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PTI One Of Two NC Airports Getting Major FAA Investment

A rendering of the new traffic control tower project at PTI Airport in Greensboro. Image courtesy of the FAA.

The Piedmont Triad International Airport is getting a major boost from the Federal Aviation Administration.  As a result, a new air traffic control tower is being constructed.

A groundbreaking was held this week for the new air traffic control tower at PTI Airport. It will be roughly double the size of the existing one built in the early 1970s. This new tower will soar at 180 feet.

The total cost of the project is $61 million. It includes construction of a base building that will house Terminal Radar Approach Control - also known as TRACON. It's technology that's usually found in larger cities. 

Michael O'Harra is the regional administrator for the FAA's Southern Region. He says it could provide more opportunities for expansion and job growth at the site.

“North Carolina is the only state in the country where we are building two new FAA control towers. That's driven by the amount of activity in the state,” says O'Harra. “So this new control tower with that improved vantage point allows potentially more of the airfield to be developed.”

The other tower that's under construction is at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

The Guilford County project is expected to be completed in 2022.

You can follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

 

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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