Opportunities to travel to Gillespie Field Airport in El Cajon will improve, as the county promised. Early in January, the board of supervisors overcame a tough funding situation by taking fund from the county Airport Enterprise Fund to fully fund the amount needed to construct a new access road the county had already banked on.
Federal FAA funds currently fund only part of the construction cost the federal government told San Diego on January 20th last year it would hand out funds that pay for 2.78 million in the total cost without a shortfall. The local Department of Public Works was only going to fund 118,000 dollars. But, after the county told the FAA the June bid amounts, the FAA informed San Diego only 2.1 million dollars was currently available. The county has received only that amount.
The additional access road that will give cars and trucks an entryway to airport aviation facilities will make a route a around the airport continuous, and safe.
Public Works had to increase the local funds taken from the Airport Enterprise Fund by 682,000 dollars to make up for the shortage in federal funds. With the additional local funds taken out, the project the county designed last year will get built.
The FAA will tell local officials, between now and September, when they can count on Department of Transportation discretionary funds for this fiscal year for the rest of the 2.78 million dollars.
For now, San Diego County will add federal and local funds together to guarantee the construction project that will be awarded to a bidder that already submitted a bid following last June's bid announcement will get paid for.
To read earlier telling news articles in High Times on Fridays, read
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