I rarely fly through ATL so I'm unsure how much impact the $ will have. http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=93632 FAA gives $40 million for upgrades at Atlanta airport The Associated Press - ATLANTA The world's busiest airport is getting more than $40 million in federal funds for various upgrades, including the construction of a 1,300-long, 30-foot-high dirt wall that will help lessen the impact of rare runway overruns. The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday announced the grants for Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, where each day an estimated one out of every 10 air travelers passes through. More than $7 million will go toward the retaining wall at the end of Hartsfield-Jackson's longest runway. "This is an extra margin of safety," FAA administrator Marion Blakey said. The federal grants also include a $18.3 million payment toward the airport's fifth runway, which opened in May 2006. The FAA has committed to $179 million for the runway, built at a cost of $1.28 billion, and will keep paying on its commitment until 2011. Blakey called the grants an investment that will add a little more horsepower to the workhorse of America's airports. "This is money very well spent," Blakey told reporters at an airport press conference. An $8 million grant will be used to repair the areas where aircraft are loaded, unloaded and maintained, and another $7 million was issued for a taxiway that opened in April at the airport. Last month, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters came to Hartsfield-Jackson to reiterate the need for airports like Atlanta's to expand, build new airports or find other solutions to meet increasing demand for air travel in the next two decades. Nearly 86 million people pass through the Atlanta airport each year on more than 980,000 flights _ one taking off or landing about every 30 seconds. They fly direct to 157 cities in the U.S. and 65 others in 43 different countries. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".