Here’s one less reason for travelers to fear snowy weather in Bellingham this winter

Very few people actually look forward to the first snow storm of the season to blow through the area, especially not during the first week of August. Skiers, snowboarders and students looking to get a snow day off of school, sure — but certainly not anybody who has to travel through it.

You can now count the folks at Bellingham International Airport as those anxiously awaiting that first morning when they wake up to a fresh frosty blanket of white late this fall or winter. It will give them a chance to try out their latest and greatest piece of machinery.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday that Bellingham International Airport will receive a pair of grants totaling more than $1.1 million. The grants are a part the third allotment of the $3.18 billion Airport Improvement Program.

According to the list of grants, Bellingham International received a $1 million grant to acquire snow removal equipment and a $135,000 to conduct a miscellaneous study.

“We are extremely excited, because the funds were issued so early — as soon as we received notification,” the Port of Bellingham’s Director of Aviation Sunil Harman said. “We can now move forward with our purchase and planning efforts.”

Harman said the biggest item on Bellingham’s International’s shopping list is a high-speed multitasking snow removal unit.

Even though it desperately needs a name like “Snow Killer” or “Plow King,” it still sounds pretty cool, right? Wait until you see what it does to a runway full of snow.

“It’s a combined snow plow and high-speed broom,” Harman said. “In effect, it does two operations in one unit.”

Harman estimated the new piece of equipment, which the airport hopes to take delivery of between late October and mid-November, will improve crews’ efficiency of clearing runways and taxiways by 20 percent to 30 percent over the equipment at their disposal now.

And the faster crews make the airport ready for takeoffs and landings, the less likely passengers will face delays — at least for this leg of their travels.

Harman said the price tag on the new snow removal unit is estimated to be approximately $750,000.

Some of the remaining money from the grant will be used to purchase two LED-lighted runway closure markers that will signal when runways are closed for snow removal or other operations.

Though definitely less sexy than a new snow remover and a pair of giant lighted Xs to be placed at the of runways, the second grant also serves an important role, Harman said, as it will fund the first stage of a study to assess how the airport can address meeting Congressional standards for buffer zones around runways.

Harnan said a “very small” portion — about 7,000 square feet — of the buffer zone at the end of Bellingham International’s north runway overlaps with an area adjacent to Interstate 5.

The airport is working with the Federal Highway Administration and Washington State Department of Transportation to address the issue. Future grants likely will cover subsequent environmental studies, engineering and construction costs for the project, Harnan said, as this study is just intended to come up with a plan.

According to the FAA press release announcing the grants, $770.8 million in airport infrastructure grants will be distributed, including $24.8 million awarded to 10 airports in Washington state for 22 projects.

“These Airport Improvement grants are investments in our country’s critical infrastructure,” U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao said in the release. “This grant is a down payment to ensure Washington State remains an economic engine as demand grows.”

This story was originally published August 3, 2018 at 5:00 AM.