Air traffic controllers now operate out of a new state-of-the art air traffic control tower at Washington Dulles International Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commissioned the new tower three and a half years after construction began. Air traffic controllers at Dulles handle an average of 1,200 flights per day. The old tower was built when the airport opened in1962. As the FAA transitions to the Next Generation Air Transportation System, the new facility will accommodate the increase in air traffic as well as Next Generation technology. Site selection for the new building was approved in April 2002 and the environmental assessment was signed off in December 2002. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority awarded a $26.3 million construction contract for the new tower in December 2003. Construction began in January 2004. The total cost for design, construction and equipment is $67.3 million. The 16, 440 square-foot tower is located about one mile south of the old tower and stands 300 feet tall to the cab. Tower equipment include ASDE-X, Enhanced Terminal Voice Switch, Traffic Management Advisory and other modern controller tools. Two new runways for Dulles were approved by the FAA in 2005. Construction on the fourth runway began in 2006 and will be completed in 2008. That runway will be 9,400 feet long and 150 feet wide. FAA Deputy Administrator Robert Sturgell said the tower gives controllers a complete, 360-degree view of the airfield and movement areas. “That’ll come in handy with that third parallel runway coming just 14 months from now as well as the new ASDE-X radar system to boost safety and reduce runway incursions.”