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It’s blue skies<br>ahead for airport

TUSAYAN — There’s no argument about just how busy the Grand Canyon National Park Airport can get.

In 1999, for example, 1.1 million passengers passed through the terminal. During the busy summer months, there’s an average of 900 flights per day and in the winter, daily flights average around 300.

Various dignitaries throw the ceremonial shovel-full of dirt during Thursday’s airport tower groundbreaking.

Based on those numbers and the desire to move the airport tower to the other side of the field, the Federal Aviation Administration held a ceremonial groundbreaking Thursday for its new air-traffic control tower.

“Some say the best way to see Grand Canyon National Park is by air,” said William C. Withycombe, regional administrator for FAA’s Western-Pacific Region. “The new tower will help us serve this growth in the air-tour industry as well as accommodate other operators who use this airport.”

The new tower has an estimated completion date of March 2003, according to David Zemek of Kiewit Western Co., contractor for the project.

The facility includes the following features:

• Base building of 5,044 square feet.

• Cab area of 530 square feet.

• Total tower area of 10,594 square feet.

• Height (to top of rotating beacon) of 121 feet.

• The tower will employ an estimated 25 people.

Construction is expected to begin later this month on Nov. 27. The pricetag is pegged at $8.9 million.

"This airport has seen a lot of changes since 1967," said Raymond Gunn, acting deputy superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park. "The National Park Service has seen visitation go from 1.8 million in 1967 to 5 million today. Between 1975, when the current tower was constructed, and 1989, business tripled."

Withycombe said the new tower will provide controllers with state-of-the-art communication and navigation equipment, allow room for future expansion, provide a better vantage point for controllers to oversee operations and enhance the level of safety for the public.

"We look forward to that partnership with the FAA in the future," said Gary Adams of the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. "We're delighted that after so many years, asking for a tower on the other side of the field is about to come about."

James Peshlakai and Elliot Long of the Navajo tribe blessed the site before the ceremony.

“This ceremony holds special meaning for us in the FAA,” Withycombe said. “We have honored the traditions of those who used this land before us and call upon them to keep this land and its present users safe.”

Deborah Baker, staff assistant to Sen. John McCain, also spoke at the ceremony, calling the event “impressive for Grand Canyon.”


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