Renovation of a multi-use terminal at the Las Cruces International Airport may be in the offing if the city proves successful in securing new Federal Aviation Administration funding.
For years city officials have talked about upgrading aspects of the airport, located at 8990 Zia Boulevard, especially as plans have firmed up to resume commercial passenger service at the facility.
Now the city, as authorized by a recent vote of the Las Cruces City Council, is applying for grant from the FAA to the tune of nearly $12 million to modernize its main terminal structure.
If approved, that grant would come through the FAA’s recently launched Airport and Tower Program and will require local matching funds of around $625,000. The match will be made up of funding from the New Mexico Department’s Aviation Division as well as other state sources.
As planned, airport officials would like to see the building of a checkpoint space in the terminal to be used by the Transportation Security Administration, as well a new waiting area.
The Airport and Tower Program was created through the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act, which was passed late last year. The program, targeting the upgrading and modernization of airport terminals, offers a total of around $1 billion in grants for airport facility upgrade projects nationally for fiscal year 2022.
The airport at Las Cruces has recently undertaken a series of upgrade and modernization initiatives including the building of an 8-foot perimeter fence measuring five miles, runway and taxiway resurfacing, and the replacement of a parking lot at the general aviation terminal.
By Garry Boulard
