(KAIR)--Atchison’s Amelia Earhart Airport is among 41 airports in Kansas awarded a portion of $5 million in grant funds.

According to a news release from the Kansas Department of Transportation, the monies are awarded to use for planning, constructing, or rehabilitating public use general aviation airports.

The grant funds are allocated through the Kansas Airport Improvement Program.

Atchison’s airport is awarded $56,925 which will be used for runway surface sealing.

The KAIP program requires airport sponsors to share in project costs by paying a portion of the total project. According to Assistant City Manager Justin Pregont, the City’s of Atchison’s portion is 10%

According to KDOT, the aviation industry represents $20.6 billion in economic impact and employs more than 92,000 Kansans. In addition, 94 percent of the state’s population is within 30 minutes of air ambulance operations.

Julie Lorenz, the Kansas Secretary of Transportation, said, in the release, KDOT is “proud of the collaboration between [the agency] and airport sponsors to increase safety, enhance economic development and support the transportation needs of Kansans.”

The KDOT Division of Aviation, which manages the program, considered 119 project applications this year with a combined total value of more than $29 million. 

KDOT Director of Aviation, Bob Brock, in the release, said the Kansas Airport Improvement Program “has not only funded key improvements at local airports, it has helped create a statewide aviation network that enhances both the health and economic well being of the entire state.”