Airport gets funding for tra c control tower

$4M grant approved

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is awarding $4 million to Centennial Airport to design a new airport tra c control tower, the administration announced.

e Centennial Airport, located at 7565 S. Peoria St., is a general aviation airport. According to the FAA, it is one of the 25 busiest airports in the U.S. and averages 1,000 takeo s and landings per day.

e tower is the building that the air tra c controllers sit in to direct tra c in, out and around the airport’s airspace, said Chris ompson, Centennial Airport’s manager of communications, via email. It is controlled by the FAA but the airport assists in general maintenance and upkeep, he said.

Centennial Airport owns the current tower, which opened in 1985, and the FAA leases it from the airport, ompson said. e new tower will replace the current tower and will increase operational capacity and enhance air eld safety, the FAA said in the release.

“ e current tower is approaching 40 years old and there are some aspects of the building that need updating to continue safe and proper operation in the future and, much like a vehicle or other item, sometimes it is more cost-e ective to replace than update,” ompson wrote. “ ere are also some other operational advantages to a new tower depending on what site is selected.” e $4 million will be set aside for site selection and the engineering and design of a new tower, ompson said. It will be a multi-year