HANOVER TWP., LEHIGH COUNTY, Pa. — U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Susan Wild visited Lehigh Valley International Airport on Tuesday to tout their roles in securing a $40 million federal grant to expand air cargo facilities there.
Wild and Casey were joined on the airport’s second floor near the recently completed TSA checkpoint by a handful of Lehigh Valley leaders praising the influx of infrastructure funding.
The airport is “a huge economic driver for our area."U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley
Wild and Casey both said LVIA ultimately has been successful in winning federal grants because of the region’s culture of collaboration.
The legislators described their efforts to bring federal funds to the Valley by reaching out to the U.S. Department of Transportation on the airport’s behalf.
That included sending letters to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttegieg, highlighting LVIA’s important role to the local and regional economies.
The airport is “a huge economic driver for our area,” Wild said, both in terms of providing jobs and letting goods quickly enter and leave the Valley.
As a result, it's an obvious target for investment, she said.
“If you're a manufacturer, you need supplies. If you're a hospital, you need supplies,” she said. “When you can get those supplies delivered right here, 10 minutes away from your hospital or your place of business, that speeds things up — same thing with what they ship out.”
800% growth in cargo
Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority Executive Director Tom Stoudt said, “the existing airport cargo infrastructure lacks efficiency,” which presents operational challenges.
The new facility will remove those challenges and speed the flow of goods, Stoudt said.
The new cargo terminal, to include a 77,000-square-foot main building, will be able to accommodate up to four tenants with room to park four planes at a time. Its design will allow for easy expansion in the future.
Over the past 10 years, the amount of cargo passing through the airport increased 800%, Stoudt said, and continues to grow. LVIA is currently the second-busiest airport in Pennsylvania in terms of air cargo volume.
“We haven’t had the opportunity to make these kinds of investments before — not in my lifetime. These are investments that just simply weren't available for decades or generations.”U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.
As a result, Casey said, LVIA essentially already had proven it was a good fit for the grant.
“That activity and that growth was part of the demonstrated need,” Casey said. “That was compelling, and Secretary Buttigieg and his team agreed.”
The airport has received more than $95 million in federal money from four different grant programs since the start of 2021, according to Casey.
That shows a new federal commitment to infrastructure spending, he said.
“We haven’t had the opportunity to make these kinds of investments before — not in my lifetime,” he said. “These are investments that just simply weren't available for decades or generations.”
Wild said her work to bring grants to the airport began shortly after she was elected in 2018, when she met with airport officials to begin work on the “puzzle” of matching federal grant programs to the airport’s needs.
With another major project funded, it’s time to meet with airport officials again and work out the next set of projects, she said.
“They already have a list for me,” she said.
