Initial rendering of the new 300 foot tower. Image courtesy of Stantec.
Anchorage’s bustling international airport is set to receive a major upgrade in the form of a new air traffic control tower that will stand several hundred feet tall. Construction on the tower and an adjacent terminal radar approach control base building, known as TRACON, is expected to begin in 2025 and complete by 2029.
Stantec, an architectural and engineering design firm, has been selected by the FAA to oversee the design process for both the tower and TRACON. According to Stantec, the airport has outgrown its current tower which was built in 1977 – well before Ted Stevens reached its modern passenger volume of just under 6 million per year and claimed the title of second busiest cargo airport in the United States.
The project was greenlighted on the basis that the current tower suffers from line of sight issues due to the airport’s expansion over the years.
Donnell Evans, an FAA spokesperson, wrote in an email that, “the FAA follows a repeatable process for evaluating and selecting air traffic control facilities in need of replacement. The Anchorage project is a result of this process and is just one of many the FAA has underway.”
In order to more safely and efficiently facilitate ever-growing passenger and cargo loads, the new tower will feature up-to-date earthquake safety measures, twelve viewing angles, technological upgrades and more space for employees.
According to the FAA, airline passengers will not be affected by construction, as the current tower will operate normally until the completion of the new tower.
Once complete, the tower will be the tallest inhabited building in the state at an estimated 300-feet – surpassing the 296-foot Conoco-Phillips Building in Downtown Anchorage.
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