• September 2005: Award Construction Contract
• October 31, 2005: Construction Ground Breaking
• June 2006 : Significant Constrution Begins
• Fall 2007: Equipping and training begin
• Spring 2008: Certified Operational
• Summer 2008: Demolition of Existing Tower

        PHASE ONE of a three-phased program to construct a new air traffic control tower at St. Louis Downtown Airport was completed November 26, 2001 with the selection of the new tower site, depicted in the aerial photo, above.
        The site selection ended a six-month effort that studied eight potential sites before selecting the best one.  The site selection team included local air traffic controllers and airport management as well as a team of engineers from FAA Headquarters and the independent architectural and engineering firm of R. W. Armstrong.
        The site selection process included an investigation of the topography and environmental considerations for each potential site, the surrounding environment (trees, homes, distracting lights, sun angles, etc.), viewing angles, effects on approach minimums, and a variety of other criteria.  A variety of evaluation techniques were used including engineering analysis, viewing airport traffic from lifts and cranes from each of the finalist locations, and finally, a traffic simulation in the FAA's control tower simulator located at the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

        PHASE TWO of the project, the design phase, began January 2003 and was substantially completed in September 2004.  Although the FAA has several standard tower designs based on the type of airport and volume of traffic, the applicable standard design must be modified to fit our exact needs and location requirements. Review and fine-tuning of the design has continued and reached the 100 percent design level in January 2005.
        Once completed, the new $7 million tower will be 138 feet tall, complete with elevator, and will provide the controllers an approximate eye height of 113 feet, a 70 foot increase over the viewing height from our existing tower.  The tower will have its own access road coming directly off Jerome Lane eliminating the traffic in the subdivision as the controllers drive to and from work.  The construction will also include a 5,000 square foot support building at the base of the tower to house tower administrative personnel, a back-up generator power source, and other support equipment.
        The existing tower was built in 1973 and was later expanded by adding a mobile office trailer adjacent to it to house the tower's administrative function.  Airport traffic has grown steadily since the tower was built and the need for space has outgrown the capacity of the small, outdated tower. 

        PHASE THREE, the construction phase, began in June 2006. Although scheduled to begin in Fall of 2005, contractual problems delayed the start of construction. A new construction contract was awarded to Plocher Construction Company, Inc., of Highland, Illinois in April 2006 and substantial construction began. Construction of Molla Drive was completed in July 2006 (except for final paving) and the tower cab was raised to the top of the shaft in mid-December 2006. Construction was substantially complete in Fall 2007 and the FAA accepted the facility and began installing the communications equipment and furnishings in December 2007.

Completed and Operational: June 26, 2008

GO BACK TO THE CONSTRUCTION PAGE