
The other Oregon public-use airports in the top five are in Portland, Hillsborough, Troutdale and Redmond, Williams said.
SEE ALSO: AirLink helicopter crashes at Christmas Valley Airport
A $4.8 million grant has been awarded to the City of Bend to build an air traffic control tower at Bend Municipal Airport, the city announced Thursday. It will fill a need pilots have been requesting for years to improve safely for arriving and departing planes.
Bend Municipal is the third-busiest public-use airport in Oregon. But airport manager Tracy Williams said it’s the only one in the top five that does not have a dedicated air traffic control tower.
The airport currently has 141,000 annual take-offs and landings, the city said. An air traffic control tower will help ensure aircraft are separated and sequenced. It will also help prevent conflicts with aircraft heading to and from airports in Redmond, Prineville and Madras.
“This is much-needed funding for a critical project at the airport,” Williams said in a statement.
Additionally, more organized air traffic can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the city said.
The control tower is tentatively scheduled to open by late 2025.
The $4.8 million will cover 65% of the cost of the project, estimated at $7.5 million. The city plans to ask the federal government for the remaining amount.
An open house will be held Monday, May 23, from 5-7 p.m. at CJ’s Airport Cafe to hear about updates and the airport master plan.
The other Oregon public-use airports in the top five are in Portland, Hillsborough, Troutdale and Redmond, Williams said.
SEE ALSO: AirLink helicopter crashes at Christmas Valley Airport
Subscribe Today
GET EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO CONTENT
SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM
NEWS FROM 30+ MEDIA SOURCES
250,000+ LOYAL READERS EACH YEAR
Get unlimited access to our news content and our archive of Central Oregon stories.
@centraloregon.news
CentralOregon.News is the #1 rated news aggregator in the High Desert. We showcase the best local media stories from your favorite news outlets. Check back daily for the latest articles from Central Oregon.
©2022 - CentralOregon.News - All rights reserved.
Optimized by SEO Web Design