RHINELANDER – Governor Jim Doyle and Congressman Dave Obey (WI-7) announced today an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) award to reconstruct Taxiway A at the Rhinelander/Oneida County Airport. The $1,219,003 project will finance the reconstruction of Taxiway A at the airport, creating jobs for a variety of subcontractors, such as engineers, foremen, laborers, pavers, asphalt plant workers and quarry workers.
“In facing this national economic crisis, we are all in this together,” Governor Doyle said. “While we may disagree on many issues, we all can agree that we need strong infrastructure, safe communities, and good jobs to continue to enjoy the high quality of life that makes Wisconsin so great. For Rhinelander and many communities across the state, it is vital that we continue to invest in airports to grow meaningful, family-supporting jobs and prepare for long-term growth. The work of Congressman Dave Obey on the Recovery and Reinvestment Act is providing major investments in Rhinelander and throughout the state.”
“Our roads, highways and airports are an important part of our economy and necessary for the creation of good-paying jobs for the region,” Obey added. “So I’m glad to see these funds going to put people to work improving the Rhinelander airport and hopefully spurring economic development for the entire community. This is exactly what we intended with the recovery act – leveraging federal funds to put people to work today improving our communities so we can compete better in the future.”
Because of the leadership of Congressman Dave Obey on the ARRA, Wisconsin is able to protect education and health care, and make lasting investments to get people to work and ensure long-term economic growth.
In addition to the ARRA funding, the Governor and the Congressman announced a $477,703 for a project using state, local and federal airport improvement funds to pay for an update to the airport’s master plan, and design work for reconstruction of several other taxiways.
The funding will create jobs for local residents, invest in the long-term economic growth of the region and enhance travel safety. The project will provide a long term planning document for the airport and rehabilitate the pavements of taxiways A1, A3, B, and D, to extend their useful life.
The Rhinelander-Oneida County Airport is a commercial airport, consisting of two runways, associated taxiways, general aviation and commercial service aprons, terminal building, and other buildings and parking areas. It is served by Northwest and Great Lakes Airlines, with 12 scheduled arrivals and departures daily. Nearly three dozen aircraft are based at the airport, which handles some 36,000 passengers annually. Construction will begin this summer and should be completed this fall.
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