The Tucson International Airport will cut the ribbon on its new air traffic control tower Friday morning.
The new tower stands 252 feet tall, roughly double the height of the current tower. It also sits at a different location, which offers controllers a better view of paths approaching the runway.
The new tower is owned by the Federal Aviation Administration. The project cost the FAA $42 million. That includes a 1,600-panel solar farm built to offset much of the tower’s electricity use.
The new tower replaces Tucson International’s current tower, which was built in the late 1950s.
The Tucson Airport Authority, which owns the old tower, has no plans to demolish it. But officials are not sure how the old tower will be used once air traffic control operations are fully phased into the new tower.