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Airport Receives $4 Million in Recovery Act Funding Dane County Regional Airport on March 30, 2009 received a $4 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) award to extend Taxiway B. The funding will create jobs for local residents, invest in the long-term economic growth of the region, and enhance travel safety. The construction will build a full-length parallel taxiway that will allow aircraft and ground service vehicles to maneuver without blocking an active runway. This improvement will reduce the risk of collision, and allow planes to take-off and land more quickly. The funding will also allow ground controllers to more safely and efficiently direct aircraft on the ground. Construction began in June. Most of the work will be completed this summer, and the project should be finished by December. Parking Improvements Parking Ramp 
The airport has added a three-story parking ramp and exit plaza adjacent to the existing four-story ramp. The 500,000 square foot ramp adds 1,200 parking spaces to meet current and expected demand for close-in parking. The project also includes a new, 2,000 square foot exit plaza with six gates and a parking administration office, that has earned LEED Silver certification as an environmentally friendly project. The entire $30 million project is paid for through airport revenues, using no property tax dollars. Ramp and Blast Walls Expanded The airfield ramp areas at the north and south ends of the terminal were recently expanded to allow for better aircraft maneuvering, and to increase space for overnight parking of aircraft from the current 14 spaces to 21. This also allows the airport to accept more diverted aircraft when called upon to do so. Blast walls, which protect pedestrians from aircraft jet engine exhaust, also have been extended both to the north and to the south of the terminal. 
The ramp expansion project includes a new glycol mixing building that enhances airline crews' ability to de-ice aircraft more quickly. The crews will use a new rapid refill feature that enables them to fill glycol trucks in five to10 minutes, as compared to the 30 minutes or longer it took previously. Airfield Fencing New fencing replaces eight foot fencing with 10 foot fence topped with two feet of barbed wire around the entire seven mile perimeter of the airfield. Cell phone lot The airport has constructed a "cell phone lot" just south of the terminal. Drivers who are picking up passengers at the terminal building are able to park temporarily and wait for a call from the person they are meeting and then proceed to the terminal curbside.
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