The Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced Monday that Gov. Jim Doyle approved a $900,000 project for design work at the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison.
The approved design will expand the west apron area and create a more environmentally friendly airport.
We always have a lot of stuff going,"" Mike Kirchner, director of engineering at the Dane County Regional Airport said. ""Most of our work is resurfacing existing runways or taxiways or expanding from smaller general aviation aircrafts.""
David Montesinos, airport development engineer at the WDT, said increasing the size of the west apron is necessary due to the increasing number of travelers and aircrafts at the airport. All terminal gates, aircraft parking and maintenance sites are located on the west apron where most expansion will occur.
""Right now it gets pretty full at night and during the mornings, so we're expanding the apron because they need more room,"" Montesinos said.
According to the WDT, there are currently 11 airlines that operate at the airport. Kirchner said the design plans will better accommodate the existing airplanes.
Also addressed in the new design is the system for storage of the chemical glycol, which de-ices the aircrafts and makes them safe for flight. The airport currently uses a man-made pond on airport grounds to collect glycol runoff, but this space is needed for other expansions.
Montesinos said plans for a new and improved glycol recovery system will use multi-million gallon tanks to collect the glycol runoff in another area of the airport.
""We're designing a good, environmentally sound system for the area,"" Montesinos said.
According to the WDT, expectations are for design work to be completed by spring.
