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HARRISBURG — Twenty-three airports will make safety upgrades and expand operation opportunities with the assistance of $8.8 million in state investments, Gov. Tom Wolf announced today in a news release.

“Maintaining and expanding opportunities in our transportation system includes the more than 400 airports in our state,” Wolf said in a news release. “Hundreds of thousands of jobs are supported by aviation in Pennsylvania, and these investments will help them operate safely, expand to meet demands, or attract more growth.”

Included in the grants is $5.4 million distributed through the Aviation Transportation Assistance Program, which is a capital budget grant program funded with bonds. The grants leverage nearly $3.6 million in local matching funds. Authorized by the General Assembly, the grants are administered by PennDOT’s Bureau of Aviation.

The investments also include $3.4 million in state funding from PennDOT’s Aviation Development Program, which comes from the state’s jet fuel tax and leverages $1.1 million in local matching funds. Public-use airports in the state are eligible for the Aviation Development Program.

The program complements the state Multimodal Fund, which dedicates $6 million to aviation in this fiscal year alone. The fund was created by Act 89, a far-reaching transportation funding program that clears the way for significant investments in all transportation modes.

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Times Leader Staff