Portsmouth International Airport's $5.7M Air Traffic Control Tower Rehabilitation Nears Completion
Why It MattersThe project shows how airports can weigh full tower replacement against renovation, and how temporary FAA-facility coverage lets flight operations continue uninterrupted during major infrastructure work.
What happened
A $5.7 million rehabilitation of the air traffic control tower at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease is approaching completion, with an estimated finish date of September 14, though airport officials say they hope to reopen the facility before that deadline. The tower, built in 1978 and standing roughly 100 feet tall, has been closed since June 19 to allow construction crews to carry out what airport manager John Meehan described as "open heart surgery for an airport." The Pease Development Authority (PDA) confirmed the project is the most extensive upgrade the tower has ever undergone.
Work includes new insulation, redundant heating and cooling systems, upgraded electrical and fire protection systems, a new backup generator, renovated workspaces and support areas, and a complete overhaul of the air traffic control cab with new windows, a new roof, and new controller workstations designed in collaboration with tower personnel. PDA Executive Director Paul Brean announced the $5.7 million budget figure — covering design, construction, and fit-out — during a tour of the facility on August 31. He noted that the authority had evaluated building an entirely new tower, estimated at approximately $25 million, before choosing to renovate the existing structure instead.
Despite the tower closure, the airport has remained fully operational throughout the project. Boston TRACON, an FAA-operated facility located in Merrimack, New Hampshire, has managed approach and departure traffic for the airport during the shutdown, and the PDA also implemented additional operational procedures to maintain safe flight operations. The tower serves both civilian and military aviation, supporting commercial airlines Allegiant Air and Breeze Airways as well as military aircraft operated by the 157th Air National Guard, which provides 24/7 air traffic control services from the tower. Since the former Pease Air Force Base closed in the early 1990s, the tower has been owned and maintained by the PDA, and the upgrade work is being conducted by Hutter Construction Corporation of New Ipswich, New Hampshire.
Industry impact & what to watch
Aging control towers built decades ago present airport authorities with a recurring choice between full replacement and structural rehabilitation, and the cost gap can be large: Pease weighed an estimated $25 million new-build against the $5.7 million renovation it ultimately chose. That decision matters beyond one airport's balance sheet, since it shapes how other operators of legacy towers approach similar aging infrastructure without triggering years of new construction and permitting.
The case also shows how continuity of service during a tower closure depends on redundancy already built into the wider air traffic system. Boston TRACON's ability to absorb approach and departure control for Pease, paired with added operational procedures from the PDA, kept commercial carriers Allegiant Air and Breeze Airways and the 157th Air National Guard flying without a gap in tower coverage.
The next marker is whether the tower reopens ahead of the September 14 estimate, as airport officials have said they hope, or lands on that date as work on the controller cab, workstations and support systems is finished.
