A recent multi-million-dollar federal grant awarded to Delaware, Ohio, will be put to good use, U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) said this week.
Specifically, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded a $4.27 million grant to the City of Delaware to extend and improve the runway at Delaware Municipal Airport, which houses roughly 80 aircraft and handles some 40,000 operations annually. The funds will be used to resurface both the airport’s runway and taxiway.
“Safety improvements, whether they are improvements on our roads, bridges, rail services or at airports, enhance the lives of people that live and work in Ohio,” Breann González, communications director for the congressman, told Ripon Advance.
“Congressman Tiberi is pleased this grant was awarded because it will help Delaware better serve their citizens and the passengers and pilots that use the airport,” González said.
A similar project also was launched this summer when work began at the Lahm Airport in Mansfield, Ohio. Tiberi was part of a team of federal lawmakers who supported securing the funds for the $6.2 million project, which involves runway resurfacing and lighting-system improvements at the airport, most frequently used by the 179th Ohio Air National Guard.
While Tiberi has supported such in-state projects funded by either federal grant money or a combination of state, local and other funds, he’s been equally concerned about similar life-enhancing safety-improvement projects taking place in communities around the nation.
For instance, in late July, Tiberi became a member of a bipartisan coalition of congressional leaders from both the Senate and House who are collaborating to develop solutions that provide access to capital and new private-sector investment for distressed communities.
The coalition — about a dozen members of Congress led by Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) — plans to introduce related legislation this fall and “examine new ideas that will spark private investment in areas of our nation that are struggling,” Tiberi said.
“Too many people are still feeling the effects of the recession and continue to face diminishing job opportunities, stagnant wages and sluggish business growth,” Tiberi said in a statement last month. “With the right policies, there is tremendous opportunity to help communities lift themselves.”