The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) a $600,000 grant for enhancements at Brunswick Executive Airport, according to U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

The money, funded under the Airport Improvement Program’s Military Airport Program, will pay for the removal of military markings at the airport and replace them with civilian airfield markings.

The funds are being used to deter unauthorized access to the airfield and meet Federal Aviation Administration standards, the senators said in a joint statement.

The Brunswick Executive Airport, which opened last year, is located at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. The Navy discontinued use of its Brunswick base in January 2010. The base was officially closed last year, the victim of a national effort to close military installations.

The Navy gave more than 990 acres with runways, hangars and other aviation facilities at no cost to the MRRA, the agency that is overseeing the redevelopment of the air station.

The MRRA was not immediately available for comment.