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Advocates for the Chippewa Valley Regional envision drawing passengers from Twin Cities suburbs.
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| Jerry Thiele stands in a hangar at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport. Thiele has visions of an busy airport drawing passengers from as far away as Twin Cities suburbs.
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By Jeffrey Hage
It's 9 a.m. and the terminal of the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport is void of travelers.
But airport manager Jerry Thiele can close his eyes and hear the hustle and bustle of busy travelers at ticket counters, security checkpoints and boarding gates.
Thiele has a dream.
He envisions a day when the concourse is filled with people, waiting to boarding planes of multiple carriers. Those travelers will be coming to the Eau Claire airport not only from western Wisconsin, but the north central part of the state and the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Today the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport is the largest airport in the 30-county northern Wisconsin area. Mesaba Airlines provides eight daily feeder flights for Northwest Airlines. Sun Country Airlines flies 737s out of the airport on gambling excursions, and the airport also hosts periodic junkets from Eau Claire to Elko, Nev.
The airport is home to 90 aircraft, ranging from single-seat home-built "experimental" airplanes to cabin class business jets.
Passengers board a jet at the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport on their way to a gambling excursion in Nevada.
The airport is also home to Menards’ air fleet. And large corporate aircraft fly in each weekday, carrying industry officials conducting business in the Chippewa Valley.
The Chippewa Valley Regional Airport is on the verge of becoming the airport of choice for many out-of-town travelers, Thiele says, because of the eastern expansion of the Twin Cities metro area, including western Wisconsin.
According to airport officials, demographics show that over the next 5-15 years, the population of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin will grow by 50 percent. That, they believe, would allow the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport to become a second access point for Twin Cities air travelers.
Thiele says flying out of Eau Claire will save travelers time, with shorter lines at the ticket counter, faster security screening and hassle-free baggage claims with no crowds to fight.
Not everyone believes Thiele’s plans are realistic. But is his vision nothing more than a high-flying pipe dream?
Chippewa County supervisor Rick Schafer, a member of the airport commission, doesn’t think so. He says big changes are ahead for the airport.
“It’s not a case of build it and they will come. It’s more of a case of build it because they are coming,” Schafer said.
The airport commission and Eau Claire, Chippewa and Dunn counties are taking steps to be prepared for the future growth. A $35 million airport renovation plan that includes a new $23.8-million terminal has won the endorsement of the airport commission. If a financing plan gains approval, multiple airlines could be flying into a new terminal by 2006, Thiele said.
By the time proposed improvements are complete, the airport will be home to an expanded terminal facility and control tower, as well as improved private and public hangars, new air cargo facilities, and improved service with Mesaba Airlines, Thiele said. Schafer sees the project moving forward if a series of grants and revenue guarantees can be met.
“What this can’t be is a burden on the taxpayers,” he said. “There’s no way the (local) taxpayers can pay for this.”
Federal Aviation Administration grants could cover as much as 90 percent of the cost of airport improvements, said Thiele. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation could also help with funding, he points out.
Improvements will begin in May with the construction of a new taxiway and groundbreaking on a $6 million air traffic control tower. The control tower will be dedicated on the airport’s 60th anniversary on July 29, 2005, Thiele said.
Paul Powers, an aviation architect with Mead and Hunt, the firm designing the airport expansion projects, shares Thiel’s view of the airport’s future.
"Jerry's plans are noble. Big ideas work," Powers said.
With busy schedules, the public’s main concern is how long it takes them to get where they’re going, said Powers.
“That’s where the airport comes in. People can save valuable time by driving to Eau Claire,” he said.
Having the airport improvements in place will also attract new business to the area, Powers predicts.
Corporations look to locate in areas where there is infrastructure. With airport improvements in place and the proximity to the interstate system, corporations will find they can save time and money locating in the Eau Claire area, Powers said.
Jeffrey Hage is a reporter for the Chippewa Herald in Chippewa Falls. Contact the Chippewa Valley Business Report at (715) 723-5515, or through www.chippewavalleybusinessreport.com.
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