U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell announced on May 20, 2026, that seven Washington airports will receive more than $82 million in federal grants that will be used for runway rehabilitation, terminal upgrades, traffic improvements, and other infrastructure projects, komonews.com reported.
The funding from the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement Program and Airport Terminal Program will support projects at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Paine Field, Bellingham International Airport, Spokane International Airport, Tri-Cities Airport, Quillayute Airport and Pullman/Moscow Regional Airport.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport received $39.45 million via two grants, komonews.com reported.
A $30.2 million grant will fund early construction work for the airport's South Concourse Reconstruction Project; those include seismic upgrades, structural improvements, building system enhancements and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. A second grant of $9.25 million will cover the addition of two traffic lanes to the airport's arrivals roadway designed to reduce congestion.
Everett's Paine Field will receive $22.15 million to rehabilitate 2,100 ft. of Runway 16R/34L, redesign taxiway layouts and convert the runway lighting to LED systems, komonews.com reported. The work also will eliminate asphalt "blisters" that have developed since the runway was paved in 2019, while improving overall airfield safety.
Bellingham International Airport received $10.26 million. Most of the funding ($9.29 million) will go toward reconstructing runway lighting, rehabilitating runway pavement and redesigning the taxiway layouts. The remaining $964,000 will pay for upgrades to the airport's utility plant serving the commercial terminal.
Spokane International Airport landed $6 million for the second phase of its Concourse C West Terminal Expansion project, komonews.com reported. The money will help build a consolidated security checkpoint with additional family and TSA PreCheck lanes, as well as upgraded baggage claim areas designed to meet ADA requirements.
Pasco's Tri-Cities Airport will receive $2.7 million for terminal improvements, that include an expanded outbound baggage area, as well as three new passenger boarding bridges.
Quillayute Airport, which is near Forks, received $1.25 million for runway and apron pavement resealing to extend the life of the airfield and improve operational safety, komonews.com reported.
Pullman/Moscow Regional Airport received $350,000 that will be used to rehabilitate the taxiway and taxilane markings that deteriorated due to weather and snow removal operations.
Cantwell credited the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for helping secure long-term federal airport funding nationwide. The legislation included $25 billion for airport improvements, including funding for terminal modernization and infrastructure grants, komonews.com reported.
