Nearly $6 million in funding announced to replace Duluth International Airport air traffic control tower

By WDIO

(WDIO)

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Tina Smith, and Rep. Pete Stauber announced that the Duluth International Airport is set to receive $5,980,000 in funding from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Terminal Program to go towards the replacement of its aging air traffic control tower.

“I’ve been fighting for funding to replace this tower that is one of the oldest in the country and in urgent need of repair,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “With this major federal grant, the Duluth International Airport is a step closer to completing this project and boosting safety and efficiency.”

“The Duluth International Airport provides critical service to northern Minnesota, from commercial service to cargo, military and medical flights, yet it’s operating with a 70-year-old tower – the third oldest in the nation – that is not up to FAA standards,” said Senator Smith. “This investment will make air travel in the Duluth area safer and more efficient. This kind of investment is exactly why I voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which made this important project possible.”

“I’m excited to announce that more federal money is being delivered to the Duluth International Airport for the construction of a new air traffic control tower,” said Rep. Stauber. “This upgrade is desperately needed as the current air traffic control tower was constructed in the 1950s and is currently the third oldest in the country. I have been advocating for its replacement since 2019 and I’m proud to have helped secure more funding to make this airport safer and more competitive for the 21st century.”

In 2024, Rep. Stauber and Sen. Klobuchar led the Minnesota delegation in a letter to President Biden, requesting that his Administration prioritize funding for the traffic control tower at DLH. Also last year, Rep. Stauber, Sen. Smith, and Sen. Klobuchar jointly announced $10 million in funding for the project.

Tom Werner, Executive Director for Duluth Airport Authority, said this funding helps them get closer to starting the replacement project.

“We’ve got a $72 million project, explained Werner. “We’ve asked for $14 million from the state and we’ve got a bill working its way through the state process, as we speak, and then another $38 [million] in federal funding.”

Werner continued that they will be applying for another federal grant this summer and feel good about their chances of success.

“We certainly would like to start as soon as next summer,” Werner stated. “We finished design several months ago. We’re shovel ready. This is just coming down to locking up the funding so that we can responsibly build the project.”

Werner also addressed the need for the new tower.

“It’s at the end of its useful life,” he said. “Modern aviation deserves to have a modern facility by which our great air traffic control tower controllers can help quarterback the movement of aircraft in our area. They do a tremendous job with the equipment that they have and with the current sighting of the tower, but we can do better and we need to if we’re going to see the aviation cluster in Duluth grow.”