Walker approves panel replacement work at Mitchell airport

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​Gov. Scott Walker has announced a $540,000 project to replace concrete panels at the Ground Run-up Enclosure at Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport.

The state will provide $432,000 to the project and Milwaukee County $108,000. The money will be used to replace most of the 25-foot square, 18-inch thick panels, which are badly deteriorated and show surface-scaling, edge-spalling and cracking, according to a news release.

Wendy Hottenstein, project manager at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, said Thursday that badly deteriorated concrete can be taken into aircraft engines during run-ups. The panels, she said, must be replaced for the sake of safety.

The project is scheduled to be completed by fall 2015.

General Mitchell International Airport is one of 98 facilities included in the Wisconsin State Airport System Plan, which qualifies it to receive state and federal money. Airport improvement projects are administered through WisDOT’s Bureau of Aeronautics.

In July, a team led by C.D. Smith Construction, Mortenson Construction, and Engberg Anderson Architects completed a $45 million reconstruction of the airport’s baggage-claim area.

The new project comes as part of an ongoing renovation of the airport, going back to 2003. Work has so far occurred at the main terminal mall, concourses C, D and E and the ticketing building. Follow @MatthewTaub1