Richmond International Airport receives $5.5M in federal funding for runway enhancement

The Federal Aviation Administration is providing more than $5.5 million in funding to Richmond International Airport so that the airport can make safety enhancements to the first of several runways that will require them.

The funding, part of the FAA’s Fiscal Year 2023 Airport Improvement Program, will fund the construction of an “offset” along the airport’s Taxiway E intersection, according to airport spokesperson Troy Bell. Current FAA standards direct the offset for safety reasons, Bell told the Citizen.

“With this offset, an aircraft must navigate an indirect course between the terminal parking apron and a runway,” he said, comparing the change to the concept of installing a roundabout at a busy intersection.

Additional taxiways at RIC are slated for the same type of offset construction, Bell said, but those haven’t yet been scheduled or funded. Work on the Taxiway E offset could begin as soon as October, he said, pending construction bids, which the airport commission is currently seeking.

Funding for the effort came as part of more than $44.6 million the FAA distributed to 10 airports throughout the state, including RIC, for infrastructure projects.

“Local airports are crucial for travel to, from, and throughout Virginia,” Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said in a joint statement earlier this month announcing the funding. “We’re glad to see this funding continue to support investments at airports across the Commonwealth that will improve safety and efficiency for travelers.”