When lawmakers voted this week to end the federal government shutdown, they also approved funds for a project at Westover Air Reserve Base that aims to boost safety at the facility that supports some of the largest aircraft in the U.S. Air Force’s fleet.

U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sought $3.7 million in congressional earmarks for the design of a taxiway extension at the airport in Chicopee. It was included in a package of military construction funding — $19.7 billion in all — that was included in the legislation to end the 43-day government shutdown.

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