New control tower set to open in spring 2008
$20.7M project officially launched; Cramer gets credit
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
A new 219-foot, $20.7 million air traffic control tower at Huntsville International Airport should be ready by spring 2008.
"This marks a new crossroads in the history of the development of this whole area," said U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, who joined airport and government officials and business leaders Monday at a groundbreaking ceremony at the site. The new tower will be twice as tall as the existing one built 40 years ago, and construction probably will start next week.
The new tower will improve safety at the airport, giving air traffic controllers line of sight to existing runways and taxiways and, in the future, to additional taxiways and a third runway, said Rick Tucker, the airport's executive director.
"This is in keeping with our master plan," he said, adding that it will help efforts to further develop the airport.
The new tower will be south of the existing one, between the two runways.
It will be built at the maximum allowable height, Tucker said. There are no budgetary constraints on the project, and Tucker credited Cramer for his efforts in securing money to build the tower.
Originally, Federal Aviation Administration plans were to renovate the existing tower without adding to its height. But Cramer said Monday that he believed renovating the tower would only delay what was really needed - a modern, taller structure.
Cramer, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, worked for years with the FAA, Department of Transportation and the Bush administration to make the project a priority and get funding for it.
Money to build the tower was included in fiscal 2004 and 2005 federal budgets. The $1.7 million initially set aside for the original tower's renovation also will be used.
© 2005 The Huntsville Times
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