Contact: Shana Stribling 202.224.0309 Stacy Burks 417.864.8258
Monday, August 27, 2001

SPRINGFIELD, MO - Senator Kit Bond today was joined by Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) Jane Garvey, and 7th District Congressman Roy Blunt at the grand opening dedication of the new Intermodal Facility at Springfield-Branson Regional Airport. The new facility is the centerpiece of the $10 million renovation that the airport has just completed.

“I am pleased that Administrator Garvey could be a part of the dedication for this one of a kind facility,” Bond stated. “This Intermodal Facility represents the region’s dedication to providing first-class service to the tourism industry. An industry that provides more than $12 billion to Missouri’s economy and a job for one out of every 14 workers.”

Bond, with the assistance of Congressman Blunt, secured the $3.75 million to help fund the intermodal transfer facility in a special appropriation in 1998 under the new transportation bill. Since that time, Bond and Blunt have secured an additional $30.2 million for runway improvements and the design of a new midfield terminal, the largest federal financial commitment in the airport’s history.

“Today is a big day for the Springfield-Branson Regional Airport. We’re dedicating a twenty-first century facility with expanded long-term parking and baggage delivery and the ability to move visitors between ground transportation, tour buses and airplanes. Our airport’s first-of-its-kind facility will help meet the increased needs of Southwest Missourians and our visitors well into the future,” Congressman Blunt said. “Senator Bond and I are still working diligently to see the airport runways widened and lengthened to handle larger aircraft in the future — a project currently funded by the FAA for $30 million. We’ll be working to make construction of a new terminal building in Springfield a reality, so our terminal can handle the million passengers a year who will use this airport by the middle of the decade.”

“This is the perfect opportunity to show both the taxpayers and the government what a good value they are getting for their investment,” Bond said. “In addition, this is a unique opportunity for transportation officials and community leaders in Southwest Missouri to speak to the top official at the FAA about the aviation issues that affect not only the tourism industry in Southwest Missouri but also the region’s economic development.”

Administrator Garvey is the most recent of many senior-level Bush Administration officials Bond has brought to Missouri this year. Other officials that have joined Bond in Missouri this year are President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neil, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, HUD Administrator Mel Martinez, and EPA Administrator Christie Whitman.