Improvements are planned at the Meridian Regional Airport, thanks to more than half a million dollars in federal grant money.

The Meridian Airport Authority is in line for $563,097 for equipment acquisition, runway safety improvements, airfield guidance sign installation and taxiway rehabilitation, according to a press release from the offices of U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker and Representatives Gregg Harper, Steven Palazzo and Trent Kelly. The money is part of 42 grants totaling more than $7.54 million for infrastructure and safety improvements at local airports throughout the state.

The money will go towards reconstructing part of a taxiway, replacing guidance signs and improving drainage, according to Tom Williams, president of the Meridian Airport Authority.

Williams said the taxiway targeted for improvements is about 30 years old and “is due for reconstruction.”

More than 100 guidance signs, which date to the early 1990s, will also be replaced with LED lighting. Williams said the lights help guide pilots around the airport.

A levee on the airport’s north end will also be extended to keep Okatibbee Creek from backing up around electronic equipment, he said. Williams said the upgrades will help keep the airport safe for its customers.

“Providing a safe facility that’s efficient is our number one goal, and this allows us to maintain a safe facility,” Williams said. “And keeping these taxiways open and usable makes the airport more efficient.”

  The Airport Improvement Program grants are being provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), according to the press release. The funding is drawn from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which is supported by user fees, fuel taxes and other, similar revenue sources.

 Other local airports receiving FAA grants include:

·Clarke County Airport – $231,886 for hangar construction.

·Thigpen Field Airport, City of Bay Springs – $91,867 for runway lighting rehabilitation.

·James H. Easom Field Airport in Newton – $89,321 for runway rehabilitation.

·Philadelphia Municipal Airport – $82,671 for apron lighting installation, and perimeter fencing.