The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2024 was signed into law on May 16, 2024. Here’s how it will affect the Port of Little Rock and the economy of central Arkansas.
The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation reports that the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 “prioritizes investments that will strengthen aviation safety, boost consumer protections, grow the aviation safety workforce, advance technology and innovation, and modernize our national airspace system into the future.”
Included in the Act is a provision by United States Representative French Hill (AR-02) that allows the FAA to relocate a navigational beacon, used by airports to control air traffic, that is currently located near the Port of Little Rock.
Because the federal government has restrictions on the construction and height of buildings surrounding air traffic control beacons, the Port of Little Rock and the FAA have been working together on the task of relocating the beacon to another site north of Interstate 40.
Moving the beacon will provide the Port of Little Rock with 1,000 additional acres to offer to businesses seeking inclusion in the eagerly-sought hub of industry, which is connected to America via river, rail, road, and air.
Bryan Day, Executive Director of the Port of Little Rock, was featured in a May segment of Arkies in the Beltway, a podcast that reports on Arkansans’ influence on national politics. Day was interviewed by Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, about how the beacon’s relocation will benefit the Port’s economic development.
Day said that with the 1,000 new acres, the port can offer a “supersite” to new companies interested in operating in Arkansas.
“That’s going to allow the Little Rock Port Authority to attract and recruit large industrial investments to grow jobs for central Arkansas,” he said.
Learn more about the bright future of the Port of Little Rock here.
