Federal funding may help expand the 'International' in Mitchell International Airport
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport wants to expand its services with the help of federal funding.
As of right now, there's two types of travelers in Milwaukee -- people who fly domestically and people who have no choice but to drive to another airport.
“Normally I go to Chicago," said Jon Zylstra, a traveler.
Government officials want to change that. The city is asking for federal funding to expand concourse E in order to have additional international and domestic flights at the airport.
“We are requesting help from our partners in Washington to help us move this project forward," said David Crowley, Milwaukee's County Executive. "This project will create a new front door for visitors to the Milwaukee region.”
The project, which is expected to cost upwards of $80 million, was expected to start construction in 2020, but halted because of the pandemic. The city has formally submitted a grant request with the Airport Terminals Program from the US. Department of Transportation. The current section will be replaced with modern tubing
"Concourse E is not an active concourse, but it has been awaiting redevelopment work for years," said Crowley.
Some Milwaukeeans say the expansion will make traveling easier.
“We actually have a son who lives in Berlin, Germany so it would be more convenient for him and for us if we could fly out of Milwaukee instead having to drive to pick him up and so forth," said Lisa Herriges, a traveler.
Others say it could potentially be cheaper.
"There are extra costs going down to Chicago. We were just there and paid $200 for parking," said Zylstra.
Many say, this expansion won't just benefit the airport, but all of Milwaukee.
"I think Milwaukee is a great city and I think we’re doing a lot of things to beef things up and make ourselves more appealing," said Herriges.
Currently, there is no official timeline for when that concourse will open or when the federal funds will be approved.