The Eugene Airport has received $12 million from the Federal Aviation Administration for infrastructure improvements.
The funding is earmarked for rehabilitating the airport’s aging taxiways that connect the main runway and the secondary runway. It’s part of a slate of upgrades and expansions the airport is planning for the coming years.
Eugene Airport assistant director Andrew Martz said construction has already begun and will finish in the fall.
Martz said the airport expansions will not impact taxpayers.
“The FAA money is actually money that’s been put into the program by airports and airlines, and then it gets dispersed back out,” he said. “It doesn’t take any tax money.”
The airport saw a 30% increase in passengers from 2019 to 2022 and Martz said the numbers are continuing to climb this year. A 2022 study recommended the airport spend up to $272 million dollars to address overcrowding.
