Federal Funding Likely To Fall Short For New RDU Runway

Federal funding for a runway replacement at Raleigh-Durham International Airport will likely fall far short of what was initially expected. 

RDU president Michael Landguth says that he expected half or more of the estimated $350 million cost of a new runway to be covered by the federal government. Now, Federal Aviation Administration officials have told him to expect only around 10 percent of the cost.

The News and Observer reports RDU officials plan to ask politicians and business groups to make the case for more funding. The FAA couldn't respond to the newspaper's request for comment because of the partial federal government shutdown.

The agency approved the airport's 25-year master plan in December 2017. RDU plans to build a runway more than 2 miles long to accommodate nonstop flights to Asia.