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Bellingham International Airport makes this change to improve safety

A Bellingham International Airport taxiway is being realigned and relocated to improve safety at the airfield. The final touches to the project are being made possible through the 2021 federal airport infrastructure grant, which provided funding to airports across the country, including Spokane International and Pullman-Moscow Regional airports.

The taxiway at Bellingham International has direct access to the runway, which has the “possibility of runway incursions by aircraft taxiing directly from the general aviation apron to the runway,” Sunil Harman, director of aviation, told The Bellingham Herald in an email.

The taxiway never had any collision or other safety incidents, Harman told The Herald, but the taxiway is still being realigned as a precaution.

The project will improve safety for taxiing aircraft by reconfiguring the taxiway with a new midfield connector, according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell.

The grant gives Bellingham International $1.3 million to complete the final steps of the project, which is to pave the taxiway connector.

Funding for the project began in 2022, with a $2.8 million grant from the federal government. The Port of Bellingham requested the additional funding this year to finish the project.

This story was originally published March 20, 2023 at 5:00 AM.

Jack Belcher
The Bellingham Herald
Jack Belcher covers transportation and recreation for The Bellingham Herald. He graduated from Central Washington University with a degree in digital journalism in 2020 and joined the staff in September 2022. Belcher resides in Bellingham.
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