County Moves Forward on Nearly $20 Million Airport Parking Expansion Spurred by Increase in Passengers, Recovering Economy

February 06, 2014
Casey Slaughter Becker, Office of the County Executive 608.267.8823 or cell, 608.843.8858
County Executive

 

Expansion, Free WiFi, Further Enhance Quality Experience for Travelers
 

Dane County is moving forward on a multimillion-dollar parking expansion at the Dane County Regional Airport (DCRA) spurred by strong increases in passenger traffic, maintaining the airport's position as an important contributor to regional economic development, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced today.

 

The expansion will cost nearly $20 million to complete, significantly under the original 2014 county budget allocation of $35 million. Miron Construction has been awarded the bid for the project.

 

“The DCRA is a key contributor to our local economy, and when our airport expands you know great things are happening in our region,” said Parisi. “The growth of local high-tech companies, combined with the Dane County Regional Airport’s growing list of 13 direct flights to locations across the country has helped increased ridership and demands for parking.”

 

In 2013, over 1.68 million passengers chose to travel from the DCRA – the second highest ridership rate in airport history – and covered parking spaces in the existing ramp were fully occupied several days a week.

 

The first phase of the project, anticipated to begin this spring, will add  three additional floors onto the airport’s existing covered parking ramp, resulting in more than 1,500 new spaces.

 

The extra spaces will be ready for use by the end of the year. Spots will remain available in the covered ramp throughout construction.

 

“We are excited to continue our work with Dane County on projects that are vital to the growth and development of this amazing region,” stated David G. Voss, Jr., president & CEO of Miron Construction Co., Inc. 

 

The expansion will bring the DCRA’s covered parking capacity to 3,489 spots. The airport also offers an additional 1,699 spots of surface parking.

 

The project is estimated to create 100 new jobs in the coming year, and solidify the airport as the primary gateway to the region’s economic successes.  Airport revenues will be used to pay for the project.

 

The DCRA airport employs thousands of people and has an estimated economic impact of $500 million, including $277 million in visitor spending.

 

The County Executive also announced another perk for those who fly out of DCRA – free WiFi is now available to the airport's visitors and travelers.

 

“This upgrade meets a critical need that has been expressed by our passengers and visitors in the past, further enhancing the traveler experience at the Dane County Regional Airport ” said Parisi.

 

The complimentary service, offered through SupraNet Communications, Inc. and Insight Wireless, LLC., will provide enough bandwidth to allow users to check e-mail and browse the web.

 

The new service has replaced the airport’s previous system that required users to purchase a daily, weekly, or monthly Internet pass.

 

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