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TDOT aeronautics director briefs senators on system condition, funding and emerging technologies
Summary
TDOT aeronautics staff told the Transportation and Safety Committee Tennessee has 76 public-use airports, participates in an FAA state block grant program, administered $191 million in FY25 grants, and faces aging pavement and inflationary pressures while preparing for drones and advanced air mobility.
JP Solvecter, aeronautics division director at the Tennessee Department of Transportation, briefed the Transportation and Safety Committee on the state's aviation system, funding mechanisms and emerging technology priorities.
Solvecter said Tennessee’s aviation system includes 76 public-use airports and five air carrier airports and that the division administers FAA funding as part of a state block grant program. He noted that TDOT issued 298 grants in FY25 totaling $191,000,000 and that under an asset management program the division completed $31,000,000 of preventative pavement maintenance at 64 airports since 2021.
Solvecter told senators the system faces challenges: the average airport pavement age was 21 years at the last statewide inspection and rising inflation has reduced buying power for maintenance and expansion. He said TDOT is preparing for emerging technologies—drones and advanced air mobility—by engaging stakeholders to develop safety, security and operational frameworks and by running workforce programs such as the Tennessee Airport Professionals (TAP) Academy.
On funding methodology, Solvecter said the last statewide economic impact study was completed in 2019 and that TDOT is working on an updated study expected by October to better capture air carrier and cargo impacts, particularly freight activity that can be hard to attribute to a single airport.
