Grants will allow the Vicksburg Municipal Airport to buy a 19-acre tract, clear it of trees and construct a federally approved fence.

The airport board says the work will make landings and takeoffs safer. The current fence does not meet Federal Aviation Administration height requirements.

The $262,000 grant from the Delta Regional Authority allows the city to buy the land on the north side of the runway and make improvements.

The city took over Vicksburg Municipal in late October and is in the process of remodeling the nearly 60-year-old terminal with part of the $1.3 million grant the city received following Hurricane Katrina.

A new fire station also will be built.