Facility Currently Scheduled To Open In 2020

Airport officials at Piedmont Triad Airport (KGSO) in Greensboro, NC, are pushing the FAA to speed up the process of building a new control tower at the airport.

The agency this week said that it has allocated $1 million for the initial design work on the new tower, which will begin next year. Under the FAA's timeline, construction would begin in 2016, with the tower fully operational in 2020.

Piedmont Triad Airport Authority chair Harry Isaacson told the Greensboro Business Journal that he is working to convince the FAA that the project should be accelerated due to safety concerns. Airport executive director Kevin Baker said that there are some shadows and blind spots for controllers because the tower, which was built in the 1970s, is not high enough.

The FAA says the site for the new tower is in the final review stage. The agency says its goal is to provide a taller tower that will have improved lines-of-sight for controllers.

The planned facility would also house a radar approach control facility and administrative offices.

FMI: www.flyfrompti.com