WASHINGTON – The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) just keeps on going.

Passed in fall 2021, the bill allocates a whopping $660 billion to be distributed over five years for a variety of infrastructure improvements. From air to sea to rail to roads and even local multi-use trails, Virginia is on the list of states and municipalities receiving long-overdue infrastructure repairs and funding to connect communities.

In order to receive the funds, eligible municipalities must apply for a new funding round every year until the end of the program.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration allocated $427 million to support the modernization of 245 airports in 39 states for fiscal year 2024, according to a press release.

Through BIL’s Airport Infrastructure Grants (AIG) program, airports are expected to receive $25 billion this year to expand terminals and runways, improve air traffic or support other initiatives.

In Virginia, that means 45 airports will receive more than $76 million for repairs. These include major airports such as Washington Dulles International ($22 million) and Richmond International Airport ($6.8 million), as well as smaller airports such as Tangier Island ($113,000) and Chesterfield’s Executive ($294,000).

“We will use the current allocation for a taxiway project,” said John Rutledge, chief operating officer of Richmond International Airport. “They are taxiways E and C. They are two connecting taxiways from an airline’s tarmac to a runway.”

A runway is essentially where aircraft park and often where passengers board. Rutledge said this infrastructure upgrade is not just a cosmetic solution, but actually a safety issue.

“The FAA says that a direct connection from a taxiway to a runway is not possible because a pilot could fly directly from the taxiway onto the runway and cause a collision,” he explained. “This project will simply relocate those two intersections.”

Rutledge said construction on the project will begin within the next 60 to 90 days.

The nearly $300,000 in grants for Chesterfield County’s smaller administrative airport will go toward expanding the runways.

“So it’s a 500-foot extension that takes us from a 5,800-foot runway to a 6,300-foot runway,” said John Neal, director of general services for Chesterfield County Airport. “The main benefit is that the planes that are departing will be able to take off with a full tank of fuel. They can’t do that now because of the weight factor when they take off. So it gives them a little more flexibility and a longer flight range.”

Neal said the expansion is far from complete, so current AIG funds will be used to acquire the easement of an adjacent property that is currently overgrown with brush, trees and natural gas pipelines. After that, they will apply for additional funds to complete the project.

The hiking trails in Virginia and DC also receive funding

In another round of grants created by the bipartisan infrastructure bill, the East Coast Greenway just received over $70 million in grant funding through a U.S. Department of Transportation program called Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE).

“The East Coast Greenway is a 3,000-mile multi-use trail connecting Maine to Florida that is currently under development and construction,” said Elliott Caldwell, manager for the sections that run through Virginia and Washington, D.C. “We are about a third of the way through.”

The Greenway is an alliance, Caldwell said, that helps communities apply for grants like RAISE, writing letters of support and working with local agencies on design. All of this is done with the goal of connecting these trails to the Greenway.

“I think jurisdictions like being part of the network because it brings visitors to their trails,” said Caldwell, who added that the current Fall Line Trail project is a good example of jurisdictional cooperation.

For DC and the surrounding areas, this means construction can begin on a 1.8-mile project called the New York Avenue Bridge and Lincoln Connector Trail Project, which will cost $25 million. The connection is part of an even larger project, according to Caldwell.

“The Anacostia River Trail, which runs through Maryland and DC, Prince George County and into DC, runs under New York Avenue, which becomes US Route 50,” he said. “And the DC Department of Transportation is going to rehabilitate that bridge over the Anacostia River.”

The project includes a new shared path in the Fort Lincoln neighborhood of Washington to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.

“We’re talking about tens of thousands of people who will have better access to the Anacostia River,” Caldwell said.

Further south in Virginia, over $5 million is being spent on building over two miles of the Suffolk Seaboard Coastline Trail.

“The city of Suffolk has been working on a rail trail for years,” Caldwell said. “The money they got for this section is crucial because it goes through some wetlands, so there will be some boardwalks there as well.”

When completed, the Seaboard Coastline Trail will encompass 20 miles of former railroad crossings and connect parts of Portsmouth and Chesapeake to Isle of Wight County. It is also part of a broader trail network that connects to the South Hampton Roads Trail, which connects Suffolk to Norfolk and then to Virginia Beach, Caldwell said.

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