Governor Polis, Colorado Aeronautical Board Announce Second Round of State Airport Funding

WATKINS, CO – Last month, the Colorado Aeronautical Board (CAB) approved a second round of 2024 Colorado Discretionary Aviation Grant (CDAG) funding totalling $4.7 million. This funding was approved unanimously, and will be utilized as a match for federally-funded airport projects across Colorado. 

“Colorado’s local airports are gateways to the incredible communities around our state and important economic drivers. These grants will provide additional resources to help improve these airports, improve safety and create more connections to Colorado airports,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

The Colorado Airport System consists of 76 public-use airports that support over 345,661 jobs, provide $16.2 billion in annual payroll and $48.6 billion in total annual business revenue/output for the State of Colorado.

In addition to the Federal AIP funding, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), has provided an additional influx of Federal funding into Colorado’s system of airports. BIL allocations provide an additional $27M ($86M with DEN included) of funding statewide per year from 2022 through 2026. These BIL allocations require the same matching component as the AIP funding. Subsequently, the Division has planned to provide half the local matching requirement to ensure airports are able to accept these additional federal funds. 

Combining requests for both the AIP and BIL programs, 29 airports were awarded $3,787,467 in 2024 State matching funds leveraging over $92 million in Federal funding.  A combined total of over $119 million in state, local, and federal funding was allocated to fund 2024 AIP and BIL projects. The following table is a breakdown of the AIP and BIL programs:

2024 AIP and BIL Programs

“In addition to providing state funding that raises the bar for the Colorado aviation system in terms of safety, efficiency and viability, the Division is committed to proactively helping our airports transition to unleaded aviation fuels as they are approved and become available,” said Aeronautics Division Director David Ulane. 

In addition to the 2024 Federal match grants approved by the CAB, a $900,000 State and Local grant was awarded to the Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) for the acquisition of a new Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) Vehicle.  With the addition of the GJT grant, the second round of 2024 discretionary aviation grants approved by the CAB totaled $4.7 million in state funding.

The second round of CDAG funding follows CAB’s approval in January of nearly $11.3 million supporting state and locally-funded airport improvement projects. In total, the 2024 CDAG program includes 65 grants awarded to 39 airports totaling $16 million in state funding. Combining all 2024 state, local, and federal funding, a grand total of $135 million in funding will support critical airport improvement projects focused on achieving goals set by the 2020 Colorado Aviation System Plan  to enhance safety, efficiency, and economic sustainability at airports all across the State of Colorado. The following table is a breakdown of the 2024 CDAG Program grand totals *excluding Federal funding for Denver International Airport (DEN):

The Yampa Valley Regional Airport (HDN) was awarded a total of $527,777 in state funding to support federally funded projects to rehabilitate Taxiway A, construct a runway blast pad, and design for a future terminal expansion. Along with just over $1 million in funding from HDN, this grant will leverage $13.8 million in federal AIP and BIL funding. “Routt County and the HDN Team are very appreciative of the continued partnership and support provided by the Colorado Aeronautics Board and Colorado Division of Aeronautics. We look forward to executing these important projects to maintain and improve our world class airport,” said Yampa Valley Regional Airport Director Kevin Booth.

In support of the CAB’s and Division’s commitment to assisting Colorado’s public-use airports transition to unleaded aviation fuel, Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC) was awarded a $35,000 state matching grant for the installation of a Federally funded unleaded aviation fuel tank. This complements an August 2023 Division surplus equipment grant for BJC, which provided $40,000 to the airport for the purchase of a pre-owned fuel truck that will be dedicated to dispense unleaded aviation fuel. These projects pave the way for future state funding to help airports transition to unleaded aviation fuel as industry makes progress towards a 100-octane unleaded fuel that can be safely used in all piston powered general aviation aircraft. 

Colorado legislation was created in 1991 to develop and maintain the Colorado Aviation System through taxes collected on aviation fuel sold within the state. There are no general funds used to meet the needs within the Colorado Aviation System. The Colorado Aviation System is funded solely through the taxes collected by those actually using the aviation system.

More information can be found at Colorado-Aeronautics.org.

Under the Direction of the Colorado Aeronautical Board, the Colorado Department of Transportation’s Division of Aeronautics supports Colorado's multi-modal transportation system by advancing a safe, efficient, and effective statewide aviation system through collaboration, investment and advocacy. In partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration, 76 public-use airports and a diverse group of aviation system users, the Division also works to promote aviation safety and education through the efficient administration of the Colorado Aviation Fund.  For more information, check us out on YouTube, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

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