Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Wednesday, September 24, 2008
La Crosse airport to design improvements
The La Crosse Municipal Airport soon will undergo a $379,000 engineering design study to correct seating and restroom shortages still lingering from security changes imposed after Sept. 11, 2001.
Gov. Jim Doyle’s office announced this week it approved the project, releasing $9,500 in state funds to be combined with $9,500 in local dollars and $361,000 from the Federal Aviation Administra-tion.
“It’s money well spent,” airport Manager Dan Wruck said Tuesday. “I think it’s key that we make sure we’re going to meet the needs of the public, not only today but in the (future).”
Much of passenger seating and restroom space was lost after 9/11 prompted security changes that relocated screening checkpoints to the first floor holding area.
The airport now has no restrooms past the security screening area, so passengers have to go through security each time they use the facilities.
“It creates sort of a logistical problem,” Wruck said. “That’s one of the things we need to solve with this.”
The availability of funding will dictate the scale of the project, he said, noting the actual construction costs won’t be defined until after the engineering study.
“We need to get those restrooms in, at a minimum,” Wruck said.
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