FAA gives $1 billion to make upgrades, repairs at 85 U.S. airports

July 7 (UPI) -- About $1 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law that was passed last fall will go to dozens of airports across the United States to make upgrades and repairs, the federal government said on Thursday.

Congress passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and it was signed by President Joe Biden last November. Funding in the law will go to various projects nationwide to make repairs and improvements to critical infrastructure, such as airports, roads, bridges and rails.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters that 85 airports will receive funding from the law for various upgrade projects at airport terminals and other facilities.

"Americans deserve modern airports that meet the needs of their families and growing passenger demand," Buttigieg said in a statement.

"Today's grants will improve airport terminals while also creating good jobs in communities across the country."

The grants include $60 million to upgrade a terminal and luggage system at Denver International Airport and $50 million for the airports in Boston, Orlando, Fla., and Dulles Airport near Washington, D.C. The money will also build a new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport.

Passengers walk through a terminal at Washington Dulles International Airport in in Chantilly, Va. Dulles was one of 85 U.S. airports that received grants Thursday to make repairs and upgrades. File Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI

The airports in Philadelphia and Detroit will receive more than $40 million for improvements.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the hundreds of millions of dollars in grants will pay for expanding airport capacity, increasing energy efficiency, promoting competition and providing greater accessibility for travelers with disabilities. The FAA said the money will also build at least two new air traffic control towers.

Thursday's allocation is the first of five annual rounds of grants -- at about $1 billion each -- that will be given for terminal improvement projects.

"America is a country that brought the modern aviation age to the world," Buttigieg said in a statement Thursday. "And yet around the world, in most rankings of airport quality, not one of our airports ranks among the top 25. That's something that we have to change."

Nearly 100 airport projects were approved to receive money from the infrastructure law for fiscal 2022.

The infrastructure law set aside $5 billion to go toward improving U.S. airports.