RALEIGH -- From commercial airports that are among the world’s busiest to rural airports that support farms and manufacturers, each is a vital part of a connected transportation infrastructure. To keep North Carolina moving, the state requires a top-class system of airports that transports people and cargo while attracting business investments from all over the world.

To that end, the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation has approved state and federal funding for four airports for a total investment of $13 million, with most of it going to Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

“Grants such as these make sure we maintain that link between our state and national and global markets,” said Division of Aviation Director Bobby Walston. “They keep our 72 public airports safe and able to better serve the pilots, businesses, and passengers that rely on them.”

The following airports received state funding:

Burlington-Alamance: $167,000 for a sewer expansion to the east side of the airfield;

Curtis L. Brown (Elizabethtown): $265,000 for design, bid and archaeological study on a new airport industrial park;

Odell Williamson (Ocean Isle Beach): $33,334 for phase one of a new perimeter fence;

Raleigh-Durham: $12,540,193 for taxiway rehabilitation.

Airports and aviation-related industries contribute $31 billion to North Carolina’s economy each year, per a 2016 report. There are 123,400 airport-related jobs in the state. The Division of Aviation is responsible for state airport and aviation system planning and development. It also provides funding to communities for constructing and improving airports throughout the state.