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Costa Announces $4.2 Million to Modernize Valley Airports

September 5, 2013

Fresno, CA – Rep. Jim Costa announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $3.6 million to Fresno Yosemite International Airport and more than $660,000 to Merced's Castle Airport. The grant to Fresno will fund completion of the final phase of runway safety improvements and extension at the airport. Merced County will use the funds for construction of a new taxiway that will enable aircraft to exit the runway more efficiently and improve safety at Castle.

"Modernizing our facilities at Fresno Yosemite and Castle Airport helps us keep pace with the demands of growing traffic in our Valley," said Costa. "As more families and businesses than ever depend on our local airports, investments such as this come at a critical time. This award will create jobs in the short term while also increasing passenger and airline capacity in the future."

Costa has long supported policies that maintain safety at the nation's airports. In May, he supported legislation that allowed the FAA to end budget-related furloughs and reverse previous decisions to discontinue critical services, such as the overnight shift at Fresno Yosemite Airport and air traffic control operations at Castle Airport.

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