Buffalo Airport to Redo Terminal Roadway with $7.9 Million Federal Infrastructure Grant

More construction will be coming to the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, this time to the roadway leading to and from the terminal.

Buffalo airport passenger totals taking off since Covid pandemic's height

After taking a big nosedive in 2020, the number of passengers flying out of Buffalo Niagara International Airport is finally soaring higher than the totals from before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The airport received a $7.9 million federal grant to update the existing airport terminal circulatory roadway, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday.

The roadway, named Luiz Kahl Way, provides access to the airport’s terminal through the arrival and departure areas, employee parking spaces, surface parking lots, the multilevel parking garage and rental car counters. There are four entrances to Luiz Kahl Way from Genesee Street and multiple pedestrian sidewalk extensions, according to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, which runs the airport.

The last rehabilitation to this roadway took place more than two decades ago, NFTA spokesperson Kelly Khatib said.

The goal of the project is to support pedestrian access to the airport with enhanced safety features, Khatib said. That includes enhancing crosswalks near the edge of the airport property and at the terminal by upgrading crossing signs, pavement markings and curb cuts.

Construction is expected to begin in June, according to Khatib.

Infrastructure bill bringing hundreds of millions to WNY – with more to come

At least $271 million is already on its way to the region for roadwork and other improvements called for in the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that Congress passed 15 months ago.

The Buffalo airport is one of 125 airports that received a total of $970 million through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. The law, signed by President Biden in 2021, authorizes $1.2 trillion for transportation and infrastructure spending.

According to the FAA, the Buffalo airport previously received more than $11 million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. Last year, the airport got $7 million to modernize the heating and cooling system in the terminal. And earlier this year, elected officials announced $4.4 million to replace up to four passenger boarding bridges, including new ground power units and preconditioned air units.

Construction is currently wrapping up on the airport’s runway rehabilitation project.

Since last year, the airport’s main runway has been closed periodically for construction work. The runway mostly reopened on Oct. 1 and will be periodically closed at night only until Nov. 1 to finish the remaining work, according to the NFTA.

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