Over 30 smaller US airports are initially in line to receive new air traffic control towers which are based on a standardised and sustainable design that adapts to the tower height required.
The US FAA says the towers would replace those which are “functioning beyond their intended design life” at municipal airports.
It states that they will range from 60-119ft (18-36m) in height – the same design enables the tower to be built according to the traffic requirements and sightline needed.
Thirty-one candidate airports for the towers are listed in an FAA budget estimate for 2023, among them secondary facilities at Detroit, Louisville, Philadelphia, Hartford, Jackson and Fort Worth.
The FAA says the tower design, by New York’s Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, meets “key sustainability requirements” – with such features as electric systems, thermal efficiency, ground-source heating, and high material recycling – and reduces construction and operational costs.
It says it needed the towers to be “tailored” to local conditions, including temperature, wind and climate.
“These new air traffic control towers will mean that smaller airports can handle more flights, more sustainably and more affordably,” says US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Groundbreaking for the new towers could begin next year, says the FAA.
