Press Releases

Today Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) announced a $7,749,620 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for the Worcester Regional Airport. The new federal funding will support additional taxiway construction and will help Massport to continue their work to grow Worcester Airport and increase its capacity to serve Central Massachusetts travelers.

“Keeping our region’s economy growing starts with strong investments in infrastructure. Worcester Regional Airport is key to making Central Massachusetts a destination for businesses and this grant will help us continue our work to bring new jobs to the region,” Congressman McGovern said. “This new funding will help to strengthen and increase Worcester Airport’s capacity by supporting additional taxiway construction so that we can serve more passengers and business travelers. Massport has been a strong partner in our continued push to put Worcester Airport on the map and I look forward to continuing this exciting work.”

“As the Commonwealth continues to see growth across the state, we at Massport are committed to ensuring that our gateways for the global economy – our airports – work to meet the needs of residents and visitors alike,” said Massport CEO Thomas P. Glynn. “This federal funding would not have been possible without the work of Congressman McGovern and the rest of the Massachusetts delegation and I thank them for this important investment.”

Congressman McGovern has been a leading champion of the Worcester Airport’s recent revitalization and helped to secure $3 million in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the airport’s Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) station. In September 2015, Congressman McGovern announced $2.7 million in FAA funding support the construction of a partial parallel taxiway to Runway 11-29 in order to reduce the need to back taxi on the runway. 

That $2.7 million grant provided funding for phase 1 of a 2 phase project. That phase included construction of an approximately 3,500 foot haul road. The project also includes the installation of a new CAT III approach lighting system for Runway 11. This grant provided funding for the reconstruction of Surface Movement Guidance Control System (SMGCS) route taxiways and installation of the lighting system infrastructure which is necessary for the installation of the approach lighting system.

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