Airports

Lee County Port Authority breaks ground on new ATC tower

The Lee County Port Authority held a groundbreaking ceremony on 22 August for construction on a new Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility at Southwest Florida International Airport.

The new ATCT is an $80 million project that will replace the current tower, built in 1982, with a state-of the-art-facility located next to the airport’s fire station.

It is scheduled to be declared operational in the summer of 2022. The ATCT project is funded with money from the Florida Department of Transportation and Airport Passenger Facility Charges.

AAE executive director of the Lee County Port Authority, Jeff Mulder said: “With record-breaking passenger growth during the past several decades, the new Airport Traffic Control Tower project is a crucial investment in RSW’s infrastructure and will enhance the safety and capacity at Southwest Florida International Airport.

“Commercial air transportation is vital to our community as it connects our region to the rest of the world and allows us access to an increasingly global marketplace.”

The new tower will be approximately 200 feet tall from the ground to the cab roof, which is more than twice the height of the existing tower.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers will be able to view the entire airport and runway approaches under the current and future parallel runway configurations for both air and ground control.

Share
.