WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Thursday announced that two Arkansas airports will receive a total of $18 million for terminal improvements thanks to last year’s bipartisan infrastructure law.
Northwest Arkansas National Airport in Highfill will receive $13 million in funding while Texarkana Regional Airport will receive $5 million, according to figures from the Biden administration.
Kelly Johnson, chief operating officer for the Northwest Arkansas National Airport, said the money will help fund the construction of a skybridge between the parking deck and the building, along with the replacement of an existing elevator, among other changes.
The airport also plans to give the lobby a facelift with new lighting, she said.
“It’ll change the whole look of the building and the campus when you drive up towards the front of the terminal building,” she said on Thursday.
"We've dubbed it the skybridge project, but it encompasses much more than the connection that's gonna go over five lanes of traffic from our parking lot," she said.
The two Arkansas airports are among 85 airports that will receive money to improve their terminals, the White House said. Overall, nearly $1 billion will be awarded. The list did not include the airports in Little Rock and Fort Smith.
Arkansas would secure more than $4 billion in funding for a variety of broad infrastructure sectors over five years under the infrastructure law, according to past White House estimates.
Arkansas' all-Republican congressional delegation opposed the bill.