BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The Kern County Airports Department has received notification from the Federal Aviation Administration of a possible allocation of $4 million to rehabilitate Taxiway Alpha, the main taxiway at Meadows Field Airport.

The funding for this project will come from the recently approved Economic Recovery Stimulus package under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The economic recovery funding is 100 percent federal share and requires no local match for qualifying projects.

The application process for economic recovery funding was highly competitive. The FAA identified a pool of candidate projects that greatly exceeded the economic recovery funding now available. Priority consideration was given to projects that could be awarded within 120 days and completed within two years.

The Taxiway Alpha project at Meadows Field Airport met these requirements because the engineering for the project was 90 percent complete at the time it was submitted for consideration.

The FAA has set an aggressive timeline for completion of projects funded under the ARRA. According to the FAA, “The intent of the ARAA is clear. FAA is to issue grants for high priority projects that can proceed to construction quickly to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery.”

The cost for the $4 million dollar Alpha Taxiway rehabilitation at Meadows Field Airport includes:

1. $650,000 for design, engineering, project administration, and testing/inspection

2. $1,732,808 of pavement overlay on Taxiway Alpha

3. $200,000 for restriping the alpha taxiway

4. $1,250,000 for edgelight and sign upgrades

5. $167,192 for conduit for centerline lights

This project is part of the Department of Airports ongoing pavement management program.

The pavement overlay will ensure that the pavement on Taxiway Alpha at Meadows Field Airport is in a safe and serviceable condition that is compliant with FAA standards.

Upgrading the taxiway lighting to LED lights will allow for low visibility operations and will also reduce airport energy consumption and costs.

Overall cost savings estimated from reduction in energy consumption is $5,000 annually.

The upgraded lighting system will also reduce maintenance costs by approximately $30,000 annually.

If you would like more information about this project, please contact Jack Gotcher at 661-391-1800.