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Delta Regional Authority funding helped Little Rock Port expand, director says
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Summary
Brian Day, executive director of the Little Rock Port Authority, told the record that Delta Regional Authority investments over the past decade paid for a land purchase to relocate FAA infrastructure and a road to serve industry — changes he said led to about 4,000 new jobs at the port.
Brian Day, executive director of the Little Rock Port Authority, said Delta Regional Authority (DRA) investments over the last 10 years helped the port buy land to move a piece of Federal Aviation Administration infrastructure and funded a road to serve industry, which he said spurred local job growth.
Day told the transcript that the DRA "helped us buy a piece of land to move a piece of infrastructure for the Federal Aviation Administration, and they've helped us build a road to serve industry." He said those projects opened new access and expanded sites for industrial development at the port.
Why it matters: Investments in port infrastructure can change access and capacity for freight and industry, and local officials often point to such projects when making the case for economic development. Day said the investments have a long-term payoff, noting the road "opened a new egress and access for industry" and that land purchases allowed expansion of open industrial sites.
On employment, Day said, "Because of those investments, we've had probably 4,000 new jobs come to Little Rock to the port, and we couldn't have done that without the DRA's help." That figure was presented by Day in the transcript and is reported here as his claim; the number was not independently verified in the provided record.
Day also characterized the DRA as "a fantastic partner" and said he looks forward to working with the organization "for many years to come." The transcript does not record any formal vote or decision tied to these remarks.
The remarks in the record focus on past investments and their local economic effects; no additional funding requests, motions, or formal actions appear in the transcript.
