COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — If you live near the Coeur d’Alene airport, you have likely heard the buzz of planes. Many have raised concerns of this noise getting out of hand. A new air traffic controller made out of containers hopes to address this.
“Our airport director, being very resourceful, was able to get containers and stack them and have them secured to the ground so that they could put a little tower or a little office up there with a glass around it,” said Kootenai County Commissioner Bruce Mattare.
A traffic control tower from the FAA could have cost upwards $20 million. The current tower was only around $300,000.
“He was so successful at it that the FAA was actually looking at that and possibly making that a model for other airports in the country,” Mattare said.
The CDA airport has various purposes. It is the base for the U.S. Forest Services, welcomes commercial flights and small bush planes.
In addition to the air traffic controller, the airport also recently added 18 new small hangars.
“The population has grown in Kootenai County,” Mattare said. “That has actually driven the airport growth.”
This growth has led to economic benefits, but those who live near the airport have reported it becoming too noisy.
“That was part of the reason for having a control tower, because now flights are going to be routed over areas that are less dense,” Mattare said.
Since the airport is self sufficient, no tax dollars were spent on these new advancements.
The new traffic control will officially start being used this summer.
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