FAA building 398-foot control tower at Atlanta airport

<p>A new, 398-foot air traffic control tower is being built at Atlanta's airport by the Federal Aviation Administration to keep up with expansion there.</p><p>The new control tower will surpass the tallest in the nation, the Orlando, Fla., airport's 345-foot tower, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday.</p><p>It is to be completed in May 2006, just before a fifth runway opens at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.</p><p>The airport needs a new tower because of a planned international terminal where the current 232-foot tower now stands. The added height is so air traffic controllers can have clear sight lines to the entire airport when the long-term expansion is complete.</p><p>Hartsfield-Jackson must pay the $31 million cost of the tower because the FAA is building it to facilitate the expansion, an FAA spokeswoman said.</p><p>Officials said there will be enhanced radar and other equipment that will increase the number of planes that can land in bad weather.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x28663d8)</p>