PULLMAN — Work to expand the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport continues, most recently with a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help build a longer, wider runway.
The grant was part of a larger $586 million airport infrastructure grant package announced Tuesday. In all, airports in Washington received a total of $10.6 million in grants Tuesday from the federal transportation department’s Airport Improvement Program.
The need for upgraded facilities at the regional airport follows the growing number of passengers there, and the airport’s introduction of larger aircraft. The airport is in the midst of more than $140 million in construction projects, which began in 2016. The expansion has led to the relocation of several of Washington State University’s animal research programs and associated structures to other university-owned properties. In 2017, WSU sold 125 acres of land to the airport for the expansion, at a cost of nearly $15 million.
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Aviation Subcommittee, claimed credit for securing the $7 million grant. In June, Cantwell also helped guide two grants totaling $10 million to the airport.
