LaHood heralds new Pennsylvania air traffic control tower

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood touted a new air traffic control tower in Pennsylvania on Friday as an aviation safety improvement. 

Congress has directed the Federal Aviation Administration to consolidate some of its air traffic control facilities, but LaHood said the agency's new facility at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport would improve flight navigation in that part of the country.

"At 118 feet tall, the new tower reaches twice the height of the 60-year-old tower it replaces, giving air traffic controllers better airfield views and improved lines of sight," LaHood wrote in a blog post on the Department of Transportation website. 

"In addition, the tower uses the latest radar and communications technology, including state-of-the-art equipment to enable future NextGen technologies," LaHood said, noting the facility was built in part with $20.5 million from the 2009 economic stimulus package.

LaHood said the new flight tower will "make air travel even safer, modernize our air traffic control system, and support businesses in northeastern Pennsylvania."

He added that "[T]ransportation investments like this modern tower will help ensure that we stay competitive in the global economy and give our kids and grandkids a modern transportation network that ensures safe and reliable travel."

"I know that this new tower will be a symbol of both safety and economic prosperity that will serve northeastern Pennsylvania well for generations to come," he said.

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