Photo above – Members of the engineering team include FAA employees (left to right): Kelsey Torchia, Maylisse Matos, Stefanie Johnson and Courtney Nolan.
In addition to being the newest air traffic control building in the United States, the tower at Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) has another distinction: women engineers led its design, procurement, and construction. FAA leaders celebrated the accomplishment and the FAA-first during a recent dedication of the Senator Kay Hagan Air Traffic Control Tower.
“In North Carolina where there are many aviation firsts, this is a notable moment,” said FAA Deputy Administrator A. Bradley Mims. “The new tower will allow the airport to keep up with the increased demand in and out of this busy region.”
The new tower is 180 feet tall, with a 550-square-foot cab to accommodate up to eight positions for air traffic controllers. The 15,650-square-foot base houses the Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) with up to 10 radar positions. The TRACON controls airspace within a 60-mile radius of the airport that includes 20 general aviation airports. It is equipped with the latest communications and navigation technology.
“The new tower is critical to the airport’s continuing mission to be a place of aerospace economic development. It enables the growth of the airport’s footprint and at the same time provides increased safety and efficiency of operations,” said GSO Executive Director Kevin J. Baker.
Fifty-two FAA employees work at the tower and TRACON: 35 in air traffic services and 17 in technical operations. Construction on the tower began in April 2019 and became operational in late September 2022. The cost of the project was approximately $58 million. It replaces a 90-foot-tall tower that has been in operation since 1974.
In 2020, Congress passed legislation to name the new tower after the late-U.S. Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina. Senator Hagan’s efforts helped provide the funding for the tower’s construction.
The new facility at North Carolina’s fourth-busiest airport is the second tower commissioned in the state this year. The tower at Charlotte Douglas International Airport became operational in February 2022.
