Grand Forks International Airport is getting a new air traffic control tower, and it's going to be a tall one. The $74 million project will replace a tower built in 1987, KFYR reported Thursday.
Sen. John Hoeven joined Federal Aviation Administration and airport officials Thursday to break ground on the project, according to a press release from Hoeven's office.
By the numbers
The new tower will stand 197 feet high. Hoeven's office says that is nearly twice the height of the current 104-foot tower. Plans call for a 650-square-foot tower cab sitting on top of a 22,800-square-foot base building.
KFYR reports operations in the new tower should begin in late 2029. Hoeven's release puts the expected opening at December 2029.
Funding comes from the FAA's Air Traffic Control Tower Replacement program. Hoeven, who sits on the Senate appropriations subcommittee that handles transportation, said he worked to secure money for that program.
KFYR and Hoeven's office both say the Grand Forks tower will be one of the first facilities in the nation to use the federal government's new air traffic control system, which Hoeven's release calls the Brand-New Air Traffic Control System.
A busy airport
Grand Forks International may not be a household name, but it handles a lot of traffic, thanks in large part to the University of North Dakota's aviation program. Hoeven's office says the airport recorded 320,996 takeoffs and landings in 2025, more than Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport's 297,737.
"We've worked hard to ensure our airports can meet air service demand now and into the future," Hoeven said. "This new tower will improve safety and support continued growth, while our efforts to strengthen the air traffic controller workforce, including expanding training opportunities at UND, will help keep our skies safe and our aviation system operating efficiently," he added, according to KFYR.
Hoeven's office noted he introduced the Air Traffic Control Workforce Development Act of 2025 with Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Jerry Moran to expand controller training, including at UND, the university Hoeven credits with making Grand Forks one of the nation's busiest airports.
Not the only job at the airport
The tower isn't the only major construction at Grand Forks International. Hoeven's office lists a $60 million reconstruction of the airport's primary runway, with $40 million in federal funding, expected to be finished in 2028. It also notes a $70 million extension and reconstruction of the crosswind runway, which was completed in 2024 with more than $50 million in federal money.
That's a lot of airfield work concentrated in one place over just a few years, and it shows the kind of sustained federal investment that can flow into a busy regional airport.
What we don't know yet
Neither KFYR nor Hoeven's office named a general contractor for the tower or laid out a detailed construction schedule beyond the late-2029 opening target. Contractors looking for subcontract work should watch for announcements from the FAA and the airport about who is building the project and when packages will be bid.
Why it matters for contractors
Control towers are specialized buildings. A 197-foot tower with a cab on top is a tall, slender structure that calls for careful concrete or steel work, precise curtain wall and glazing at the cab, and heavy electrical, mechanical, communications and backup power systems throughout the base building. That makes it a multi-year job with room for a wide range of trades, from foundation and structural crews to electricians, HVAC contractors, low-voltage and controls specialists.
Federal work also comes with its own rules. Contractors chasing FAA-funded projects should expect requirements like Davis-Bacon prevailing wages, airport security and badging rules for site access, and strict documentation. Firms that already handle federal paperwork will have an edge.
For North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota contractors, the tower, combined with the ongoing primary runway reconstruction set to finish in 2028, means Grand Forks International will be one of the region's steadier sources of public construction work for the next few years. With the tower expected to open in late 2029, now is the time to get on the radar of whoever is leading the project.