Hollywood Burbank Airport is among four California airports that will receive a combined $89.3 million from a federal grant intended to address growing demand for air travel and support projects to improve the passenger experience, the state’s two U.S. senators announced Thursday.
Sens. Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler said the funding comes from the Federal Aviation Administration through the Airport Terminal Program and was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Hollywood Burbank Airport will receive $17.3 million to help with construction of its new 355,000-square- foot terminal.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to help modernize our airports to provide a better flight experience for both Californians and the millions who visit our state each year,” Padilla said in a statement.
“This latest round of federal funding coming to our state will make our airports safer, easier to navigate, and more energy efficient while generating good-paying jobs for Californians.”
Officials broke ground on the terminal last month, kicking off a massive construction effort that officials expect to have completed by October 2026.
Dubbed a “new, safer, modern and more convenient passenger terminal at Hollywood Burbank Airport” by officials, project manager Jacobs Engineering estimates the 355,000-square-foot construction will cost $1.25 billion over the next four years.
And while the project has already secured a third of the necessary funding, which will be sourced mostly from infrastructure bonds and federal grants, officials will continue to rely on infrastructure funding as no state, county or local funds from Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena will be used to pay for the new terminal.
Besides Hollywood Burbank, Los Angeles, Oakland and San Francisco international airports will benefit from the grant.
“The Biden-Harris administration’s almost $90 million investment into our state’s most high-traffic airports recognizes California for the national travel hub it is,” Butler said in a statement. “As more Americans are on the move, this investment will help create smoother air travel for millions traveling through our airports, from improving congestion to fixing the aging infrastructure, all while creating jobs.”
In 2023, Padilla and then-Sen. Dianne Feinstein announced $139.5 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law would be used to upgrade eight airports across the state.
Padilla and Feinstein also previously announced nearly $100 million in airport infrastructure grant funding in 2022, along with more than $294 million for 167 airports across California in 2021.
— City News Service contributed to this report.
First published in the February 16 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
