An air traffic control tower for Bend Municipal Airport is in the works, with construction set to begin this summer.
The city of Bend is working to develop the project with the F ederal Aviation Administration (FAA), the state of Oregon, Deschutes County and other agencies and partners.
The project team includes lead design consultant Morrison-Maierle (structural, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as information and communication technology); architect LSW Architects of Vancouver, Washington; tower specialist AJT Engineering of Cocoa, Florida; civil engineering supporter Rammah Design ; and general contractor Corp Inc Construction .
There are 97 public-use airports in Oregon, and Bend Municipal Airport is the third busiest (more than 140,000 annual operations) according to Tracy Williams, airport manager for Bend Municipal Airport. Among the top five busiest, Bend Municipal Airport is the only one that does not have an air traffic control tower, she said.
Currently, pilots are requested to announce movements, including takeoffs and landings, via aviation band radio and coordinate with each other in the air.
“With the number of operations, it gets kind of difficult during peak hours,” Williams said.
A tower is expected to ease congestion and reduce the possibility of conflicts. Air traffic controllers, who will be contracted employees, will organize the flow of aircraft traffic, assist pilots in adherence with the airport’s Fly Friendly Program (which responds to noise concerns at the airport), and provide necessary information to pilots within the airport’s airspace.
An approximately 115-foot-tall tower is planned for undeveloped airport property, around 500 feet east of Runway 16-34. The tower will include four controller workstations, a break room, a backup generator and all necessary power, information technology space, and mechanical infrastructure. Exterior project components will include a rotating beacon, antennas and lightning rods. The project will also produce an access road, a parking area, utility connections and security fences, and supplemental weather sensors on a mast.
The exterior panels and other design features will be complementary to the surrounding Central Oregon landscape, Williams said.
Airport users have expressed a desire for a tower since 2008, Williams said. She came on board in April 2020 and explored the possibility of such an addition.
“We were accepted as a candidate in the FAA Contract Tower Program by October 2020,” she said.
Bend Municipal Airport was given five years to get the tower built. The due date is Oct. 14, 2025. Following project completion, the airport will officially be in the program, Williams said.
The total project cost is approximately $15 million. A $9.1 million contract recently was awarded for base construction of the tower; additional bid packages have not been issued yet.
Federal, state and local sources, including grants, are being used to pay for the project. Some of these include FAA Airport Improvement Program funds, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding, congressional-directed dollars, and a Connect Oregon grant from the state.
The start of construction is dependent on the city’s receipt of federal funds; they are expected to arrive this month and allow crews to begin work in mid-July.
The project is scheduled to be completed and prepared to pass an operational readiness inspection by the FAA by Oct. 14, 2025. Officials expect the airport to begin controlling air traffic sometime in November 2025.
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