The Board of County Commissioners today approved two grants for more than $550,000 for upgrades at the Immokalee Regional Airport (IMM). A Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) grant for $352,000 is earmarked for design to rehabilitate Runway 18/36, one of two runways at the airport, and an additional FDOT grant for $200,000 will help cover costs for design and permitting of security enhancements. The existing terminal building was built in 1996, prior to when many aviation security recommendations were adopted. With this grant the Airport Authority will be able to design and permit enhanced security and provide a safer and more secure airport environment. The two FDOT grants are part of an ongoing initiative to modernize the airport’s infrastructure to create a safer and more efficient operating environment for airport users. Upon completion of the design phase associated with the Runway 18/36 Rehabilitation, the Collier County Airport Authority and FDOT plan to invest nearly $7.3 million of additional funding to reconstruct the original pavement, which dates back to the airport’s activation as an army training base during WWII (1942); construction is expected to commence in late 2019. Collectively, these vital improvement projects, and their associated construction costs, represent over $8.5 million of imminent capital investment in the Immokalee Regional Airport, of which 80 percent will be funded by FDOT with 20 percent local/county participation “These grants are a boon to the Immokalee Airport which will help to boost the economy in the Immokalee area as well as countywide,” said Board of County Commissioners Chairman W. L. McDaniel, Jr., District 5. FDOT estimates that IMM has a total local economic impact of nearly $27.7 million annually. For more information contact Airports Manager Justin Lobb at 239-642-7878.