Feds award $300k grant to Libby Airport for snow removal

| February 28, 2020 2:58 PM

Just weeks after officials received permission to apply for federal dollars for a new snow removal vehicle, the Libby Airport received $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the effort.

The grant comes through the Federal Aviation Administration. The money headed toward the Libby Airport is part of a $520.5 million “national investment in America’s airports,” according to a press release announcing the award.

Officials with the Libby Airport Board lobbied the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners for the green light to apply for the grant earlier this month. The airport’s snow removal vehicle was on its last leg and required at least $30,000 in repairs, officials said.

In the meantime, airport personnel were using a truck on loan from Troy to clear the runway. But the front-wheel drive vehicle struggled to push accumulated snow far enough away from the runway to prevent problems in the event of a major storm, officials said.

Airport staff had lucked out given the mild winter weather this year, Libby Airport Board Chair Bill Caldwell told county commissioners.

County commissioners Mark Peck (D-1) and Jerry Bennett (D-2) signed off on the endeavor, but asked airport officials to make financial sustainability a goal for the facility. The grant requires a $15,000 matching contribution from the county.

The airport was one of 17 in Montana to receive federal dollars. Laurel Municipal Airport, for example, will receive $373,000 to pay for sealing the runway and taxiway as well as apron pavement surface and joints while Bowman Field Airport will receive $180,000 for navigational aids and a rebuilt apron.

“America’s airports provide a gateway to the world for our citizens while at the same time delivering first impressions of the United States to visitors from abroad,” said FAA Administrator Steve Dickson. “It’s in our national interest to make them the crown jewel in our transportation system. The Airport Improvement Program allows us to do just that.”