The Runway 6-24 Improvement Program at Erie International Airport, Tom Ridge Field has reached two critical milestones during the first half of 2008 that enable this very important regional economic development program to move forward.  The first milestone was the approval and signing of multi-municipality agreements that pave the way for local funding of the capacity portion of the runway program.  The second milestone was the awarding of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 2008 fiscal year grant to the Erie Regional Airport Authority.

In a move unprecedented in the aviation industry, the City of Erie and County of Erie, Pennsylvania along with the Erie Regional Airport Authority (ERAA) jointly signed three (3) agreements crafted over several months to the mutual agreement and benefit of each entity.

These extraordinary agreements include:  (1) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), (2) Intergovernmental Cooperative Agreement (ICA) and a (3) Joinder Application and together they identify the terms and conditions that allow for approximately $19.5 million in net project funding coming from the County of Erie. This funding amount is a supplement to the $47.7 million in funding the FAA has committed; the $6 million which is ERAA’s funding share; and the remaining project funding coming from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Aviation and other federal grants. The total project funding effort will be 80.3 million in (2013) dollars

Marking the second project milestone is the award of a grant for $8,199,660 from the FAA. This award amount is a share of the total FAA commitment and will in part, allow for the continued acquisition of property located within Zones 1 and 2 of the project area consisting of commercial businesses and residential units.  The award amount will also allow the project team to continue with project design, wetland mitigation planning and program management.

These funding sources make it considerably easier for the project team to forecast the next steps in the development of the Runway 6-24 Improvement Program.