Over 364-thousand dollars in federal grants have been award to two airports in North Dakota to support improvements in their infrastructure.
Kyle Wanner is the director of the North Dakota Aeronautics commission. He says just over 117-thousand dollars will go toward improving the runway at the airport in Devils Lake - which is due for an upgrade.
"Their cross-wind runway was last rehabbed back in 1992, so about 24 years ago now. The state, we did a pavement condition study in 2015 and confirmed the need to do an overlay on the runway. So it's a great project, and we can make sure Devils Lake is ready for the construction project next year."
Wanner says in Grafton, the airport is in need of a more intensive face-lift. He says nearly 248-thousand dollars will go toward updating the airport's master plan.
"It's basically the blueprint of their airport and master plan, so it takes a look at where we're at right now, the inventory, and where we need to be over the next 20 years. The last time we did that project I believe was in the 1990s as well, so it's very much overdue and we need to make sure we're up to federal standards and have the right view of where we need to go with that airport in the future."
Wanner says the projects could take anywhere from two to three months to complete once the bidding for the projects is complete. Construction should begin next fall.