Washington, DC—The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investing $40.9 million in infrastructure for Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) in Greensboro, NC. The Agency is building a new, 180-foot-tall Air Traffic Control Tower.

The new control tower will accommodate up to eight positions for air traffic controllers in a 550- square-foot tower cab. A 15,650 square-foot base building will anchor the new tower. It will house the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) with up to 10 radar positions for air traffic controllers. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art automation and communications systems. The base building also will include administrative offices and a training classroom. Construction will begin in early 2019, and the FAA expects to commission the facility in early 2022.

The new tower will allow air traffic controllers to manage flights safely and efficiently at North Carolina’s third busiest airport. Greensboro Tower controlled 84,600 flights, and the TRACON handled 155,000 radar operations in the 12 months ending on Sept. 1, 2018.

The FAA awarded the construction contract to Archer Western Construction, LLC, of Chicago, IL. The new facility will replace the existing 90-foot-tall tower that has been in operation since 1974.