PRESS RELEASE
City of Porterville
291 N. Main Street
Porterville, CA 93257
For more information contact:
Yuriko Velarde, Administrative Analyst
yvelarde@ci.porterville.ca.us
September 2, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CITY OF PORTERVILLE RECEIVES $4.44 MILLION GRANT FOR AIRPORT
The City of Porterville has been awarded a federal grant for $4.44 million towards the rehabilitation of the Porterville Municipal Airport Taxiway. The grant has been awarded by the United States Department of Transportation through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which provides grants to public agencies for planning and development. The grant will pay ninety percent (90%) of the estimated total construction costs for the rehabilitation of the parallel taxiway and the reconfiguration of three connecting taxiways to meet current FAA geometry standards. The taxiway rehabilitation project is part of planned multi-phase enhancements that will construct significant upgrades to the Airport over the next several years, including a shift of the runway to increase the runway length from currently approximately 6,000 feet to 7,800 feet, making it possible to support the operation of large jet aircraft.
The City of Porterville is thankful for the support of Congressman Kevin McCarthy, who has been a consistent champion and supporter of the City’s pursuit of federal grants and associated improvements to the Porterville community, including this FAA grant and the recently awarded Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) federal grant to the Porterville Fire Department for six additional sworn Firefighter personnel.
The Porterville Municipal Airport is a former United States Army Air Forces base, opened in 1942 as a training base during World War II. After the War, the Army conveyed the Airport to the City of Porterville in 1948 for use as a municipal airport. The Airport currently serves as the home of the regional Air Attack Base for CalFire and the United States Forest Service, as well as fixed based operators and other aviation services.
