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County accepts FAA FCT grant and discusses tower replacement plans
Summary
Craven County accepted an FAA Federal Contract Tower (FCT) grant to advance air traffic control tower work at the county airport; staff described a multi-year plan to replace the 1974 tower with engineering estimates around $11.5 million and noted competitive grant timing.
Craven County commissioners accepted an FAA grant at their April 20 meeting to support air traffic control tower work at the county airport and heard staff lay out a multi-year project timeline.
Airport representative Andrew Shorter described the grant as a competitive FAA FCT (Federal Contract Tower) award. “This grant was a competitive grant from the FAA. It's called a FCT grant,” Shorter said, explaining that the airport owns the tower structure while the FAA staffs it with contracted controllers. Shorter said the current tower was built in 1974 and is approaching the end of its useful life; FAA-required site studies, including a virtual-reality siting exercise, have been completed.
Shorter said the initial engineer's estimate for a tower replacement was about $11.5 million but that the recent federal budget emphasis on air traffic control could improve grant prospects for construction funding. He also described related airport work, including terminal improvements that closed at roughly $34 million funded by FAA and state grants. The board moved to accept and execute the FAA grant and approved the motion by roll call.
Commissioners asked follow-up questions about long-term costs and runway-safety-area work; Shorter said the county is in the design phase to move a road to expand the runway safety area and will seek FAA funding for the safety-area project next year with state funds already identified for the road design.
