Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced a $1.7 million grant to Willard Airport from the Department of Transportation, on Thursday.

“Willard Airport is a critical transportation link for central Illinois,” said Durbin in a press release. “Today’s funding will create jobs and contribute to the long term ability of the airport to serve travelers safely, securely, and efficiently.”

The money will be used to build and improve new runways and update their systems, said Christina Mulka, Durbin’s press secretary.

This announcement comes a day after Delta Air Lines announced that it will discontinue flights from Savoy’s Willard Airport to Detroit, Mich beginning Aug. 31, 2010 due to poor performance.

Delta has provided Champaign-Urbana with its services since 1986, but over the past year only 60 percent of seats had been filled. This is about 20 percent fewer than other Delta routes, according to a press release.

“Although Delta would prefer to continue serving the market, flights between Champaign/Urbana and Detroit have experienced a significant decline in passenger loads and revenues this year,” Joe Esposito, managing director of Network Planning said in a press release. “We have made the difficult decision to eliminate our Champaign/Urbana service to better focus our resources on profitable markets.”

Customers who have provided complete contact information for booked flights after Aug. 31 will be contacted to arrange alternate transportation or refunds.

Ten employees of Regional Elite Airline Services, a Delta subsidiary that handles ground operations at airports around the country, will be offered opportunities to transfer to other positions.