CRESTON, Iowa — The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday that the Creston Municipal Airport was awarded a grant of just over $5 million to replace its hard surface runway.
The Creston project was just one of the hundreds of airport grants totaling nearly $900 million that the FAA is handing out through its 2021 Airport Improvement Program.
“These Airport Improvement Program grants will help modernize America’s airports and ensure that our air transportation system remains the safest and most efficient in the world,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said.
Brian West, an employee at the airport, told Local 5 that the current runway is really starting to show its age. The runway was built in 1968 and extended in 1974 to its current length of 4,190 feet.
The Creston Municipal Airport is managed and maintained by West Aviation Inc. under a contract with the city. The airport handles corporate jets and smaller pleasure aircraft.
The LeMars airport in northwest Iowa is getting $3.85 million to reconstruct its runway, and Iowa City was awarded over $500,000 for runway improvements.
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