The Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport received a $15 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration, just in time for construction season.

“We go through an application process every year to try and get a discretionary funds grant,” Tony Bean, Executive Director of the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport, said.

The original application asked for $41 million, Bean said.

Most of the money that funds the grants come from airports not wanting to use their entire entitlement funds, which are funds that every airport receives and are used for construction and maintenance. The excess funds are called discretionary funds, which is what the airport applied for, Bean said.

The grant will be used to fund the second year of the construction project to realign the runway and arrived at a key time, as it is critical to hire a contractor before the prime construction season begins.

“We will be getting a contractor hired soon and hope to start the first week of June,” Bean said.

Getting the project started soon will keep things moving efficiently, he said.

A second grant is expected to arrive later in the year as well, which would bring the total discretionary funding $25 million, Bean said.