Airports across Oregon, including Burns, to receive $3 million in federal funds for improvements

By: Mia Maldonado

Ten Oregon airports will receive $3.1 million in federal funding for upgrades, members of Oregon’s congressional delegation announced last week. 

“Small airports throughout our state need and deserve federal investments so Oregonians can count on them for small business support, emergency response, secure travel and more,” said U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat. “These federal resources advance those key objectives statewide, and I’ll keep battling for similar infrastructure investments to make all airports in Oregon better and safer.”

The Federal Aviation Administration is distributing the funding across the following airports: 

• The McMinnville Airport will receive $1 million to acquire and install a new wind cone to help pilots, as well as to build 12,500 feet of fencing and 10 gates.
• The Burns Municipal Airport will receive $418,000 to build a 1,600-square-foot building to store snow removal equipment. 
• The Florence Municipal Airport will receive $400,000 to acquire and install a new wind cone and segmented circle navigational aid for pilots. 
• The Troutdale Airport will receive $290,000 to reseal 13,000 feet of existing taxiways and joints.
• The Ontario Municipal Airport will receive $275,000 to build a new helipad.
• The Corvallis Municipal Airport will receive $246,000 to build a new taxi lane to provide airfield access to a hangar development area.
• The Lexington Airport in Morrow County will receive $160,000 to upgrade the light system on two runways.
• The Newport Airport will receive $137,000 to build a 5,250-square-foot hangar for aircraft storage.
• The Tillamook Airport will receive $137,000 to build a new fuel farm, including adding two fuel tanks and two self-service pumps.
• The Gold Beach Municipal Airport in Curry County will receive $78,000 to reseal 3,200 feet of runway pavement and 3,200 feet of taxiway pavement.

Local officials celebrated the funding investments.

“The role of the Burns Municipal Airport in terms of public safety is often overlooked,” Harney County Commissioner Rob Frank said in a statement. “It is an integral component of our wildfire response and emergency response for the entire region, and this investment in infrastructure is critical.”

In McMinnville, the airport investment means more security and safety, airport manager John Paskell said.

“As a developing regional general aviation airport, and as a significant economic asset and job creator in the community, continued federal infrastructure investment in airports is critical in ensuring their viability well into the future, particularly for airports in smaller communities like McMinnville,” Paskell said in a statement. “Those airport improvements go a long way and help protect and preserve the airport’s financial self-sufficiency while also improving the facility.”