The state of Florida will allocate $6.25 million for signage and safety improvements at Palm Beach International Airport, renamed in July in honor of President Donald Trump. The funding will cover these projects without requiring financial contributions from the county.
The decision was confirmed by Republican state representative Meg Weinberger from Palm Beach Gardens, according to a report this Wednesday by the network WFLX, after county commissioners accepted a grant from the state government.
The funding, provided by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), was included in the official documentation of the meeting on November 10, which establishes an allocation of $6.25 million for signage and safety improvements at the Donald J. Trump International Airport.
The state will cover 100% of the costs outlined in that budget item, without requiring an equivalent financial contribution from the local authorities, as specified in the document.
The grant is part of a broader budget modification amounting to $12.75 million, which also includes an additional $6.5 million allocated for the first phase of the modernization of the terminal and its boarding areas.
This second assignment does require a local counterpart of 6.5 million dollars, unlike the funds allocated for signage and safety.
Before the new funding was announced, the county's Department of Airports had estimated that renaming the facility would cost approximately $5.5 million, a figure that included the replacement of signs, modifications to technological systems, printed materials, uniforms, and other operational elements.
Airport authorities had explained that the transformation would take place in stages and that they would seek additional resources to complete the work. Previously, Florida had approved an allocation of 2.75 million dollars to support this process.
Although the new grant prevents the county from having to provide its own funds for the planned signage and safety work, the funding comes from resources from the state of Florida.
The airport officially adopted the name of Donald Trump on July 9, after Governor Ron DeSantis signed the legislation establishing the new name on March 30.
The facility, located in West Palm Beach, about eight kilometers from Mar-a-Lago, the residence of the president, became the first commercial airport in the United States to be named after a sitting president.
The initiative was spearheaded by representative Meg Weinberger and received support from the state legislature, although it also drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers regarding the costs and the decision to change the name without prior consultation with county authorities.
The transition began even before the official date. In early July, the first signs with the new name had already been installed on Interstate 95, one of the main access routes to the airport.
Subsequently, the identifier used by airlines and reservation systems changed from PBI to DJT on August 18, marking the completion of another phase of the transition.
Despite the name change and state funding, Palm Beach County remains responsible for the airport's management, operations, finances, and decisions related to its functioning.
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