Pocono News Section

Ground Broken for New Air Traffic Control Tower at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport

Ground Broken for New Air Traffic Control Tower at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport - Friday, January 29, 2010 at 6:55PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Friday, Jan 29, 2010 @ 06:55pm EST
AVOCA, LUZERNE COUNTY - Friday was a big day for the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton International Airport. Ground was officially broken for the facility's new air traffic control tower.

The ground literally moved after officials held a short ceremony. Congressman Paul Kanjorski pushed a lever that detonated dynamite where the new tower will stand.

The new tower will be 92 feet tall. It will be double the size of the existing facility.

"We're working in an outdated building from the 50s with limited space for expansion. This new building is gonna give us the opportunity to maybe get more airspace, get some more traffic," Phil Gallagher with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association said.

The new tower will cost nearly $19 million dollars. It is being paid for with federal stimulus money. Airport leaders say the construction should silence critics concerned about the airport's future.

"There was a time when the FAA looked at consolidation and this kinda puts that to bed," airport director Barry Centini said.

Officials say the tower will mean a "new age" in local aviation. It'll make the skies safer and possibly even bring in more carriers.

"It allows the airport to fully utilize all its runways," Lackawanna County commissioner Mike Washo said. "We have one runway now we can't use because the site lines are poor."

"They recognize we're an area on the move with a future and that's extremely important," Congressman Paul Kanjorski said.

If all goes according to schedule, the new tower should be up and running in the summer of 2012.