New York Construction Report staff writer
EW Howell Construction Group has broken ground on a new eight-story air traffic control tower at Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach.
The $15.4-million project will replace the exhsting tower that dates back to the 1940s with a new 6,103-square-foot tower that will include office space, training areas, a break room, equipment rooms and an upper-level control cab.
The project was designed by CTBX Aviation and is intended to address safety, security and operational deficiencies at the existing tower. A replacement study completed in 2003 determined that building a new facility was preferable to rehabilitating the aging structure, which had deteriorating concrete, outdated equipment and did not meet current visibility, fire, life-safety and security requirements.
The existing tower is also too short to meet current FAA sightline standards, according to Suffolk County environmental review documents.
Construction will include demolition work, concrete foundations, a precast concrete panel exterior, site work and interior fit-out. The upper control cab will feature a glass and metal panel enclosure.
About 22 acres of trees and brush needed to be cleared to improve sightlines to the airport’s runways from the new tower.
The facility will include infrastructure to accommodate communications, antennas and weather equipment for the Air National Guard, National Weather Service and airport operations.
Construction is underway, with EW Howell reporting that foundation work has been completed. Suffolk County also issued an advisory earlier this month warning airport users about crane operations associated with construction of the new tower.
The existing air traffic control tower will remain in operation during construction and will be demolished once the new facility is fully commissioned. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.
