GRAND JUNCTION, Colo — Investing in the future and expanding travel on the Western Slope.

The existing thirty thousand square foot Montrose Regional Airport will eventually grow to upwards of seventy thousand square feet.

The Montrose Board of County Commissioners has approved a thirty-three million dollar expansion project.

Sue Hansen, a Montrose County Commissioner, says, “to say it’s no small decision, is an understatement, for a community of our size to spend this kind of money on our airport is a significant contribution.”

Local leaders say it’s an investment that is vitally important to the community and will help raise a new bar for travel.

Hansen also says, “300,000 enplanements and deplanements in a given year.  That’s a lot of people coming through Montrose County. Not only do we have a heavy traveling public for leisure time in ski season, we have a pretty robust business culture that actually needs that airport as well.”

The project is expected to provide some big benefits.

Katie Yergensen, with the Montrose Regional Airport, says, “with the expansion and renovation we will eventually be able to offer jetways for our passengers. We will also be able to offer additional kitchen and bar area. We will also be able to offer expanded passenger space, so a little bit more elbow room for passengers that are coming and going from Montrose Regional Airport.”

New projects always come with a price tag, but this one will help pay for itself.

Yergensen also says, “we had budgeted ten million, I don’t know if we’ll be able to spend all of it because we’re kind of starting late, looking at construction a little later in the year, however the county also received a grant, a 12.2 million dollar grant from the FAA to help support this expansion effort as well.”

Additional parking spaces are also coming soon and could ease the hassle of parking ahead of your next trip to Montrose Regional Airport.