Tennessee Airport Gets $31M for Runway Safety

Memphis International Airport is receiving a $31.8 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration for runway safety and other projects.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, who represents Memphis, and the FAA announced Monday that the grant will help pay for installation of crushable concrete placed at the end of a runway to stop an aircraft that overruns the landing strip.

The money also will be used for a five-phase, $90 million project to reconstruct the concrete, aircraft-parking ramp that surrounds three passenger terminal concourses.

Grant money also will be used to improve systems that provide secure entrance and exit to the restricted areas of the airfield and terminals, and the closed circuit TV cameras monitor these access points.

Memphis’ airport is one of the world’s busiest cargo airports.