FAA grant will pay for improvements at Harry P. Williams Memorial Airport

Eleven grants totaling $13,146,304 in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration will improve airports throughout Louisiana, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said Friday.

One of the grants is for $135,000 to the St. Mary Parish Council to "provide federal funding for the Harry P Williams Memorial Airport associated with Patterson, Louisiana. This project updates the airport master plan narrative report and airport layout plan to address key issues, objectives and goals pertinent to the airport's future development," Cassidy's office said in a press release.

Another $54,564 will go to the Iberia Parish Airport Authority.

This grant will provide federal funding for the Acadiana Regional Airport associated with New Iberia. This project replaces 109 concrete panels of the existing North General Aviation Taxiway needed to extend the useful life of the pavement.

The projects funded by the grants will reconstruct taxiways, rehabilitate taxiway lighting and runways, conduct airport wildlife hazard assessment/management plan, update airport master plans, construct terminal buildings, and improve airport drainage and erosion control.

“Airports are the gateway to a city," Cassidy said in a press release," and are one of the first things employers look to when making decisions as to where to invest. These projects make it cheaper and more efficient for freight and passenger to travel. This make Louisiana a more attractive place to invest.”