Commissioners Mull Southwest Florida International Airport Upgrades

Lee County commissioners met November 8 regarding the security system camera upgrades and other enhancements at Southwest Florida International Airport which will be funded from the federal and state grants just accepted by the county port authority board.

Based on records, the grants are to be used as follows: $2.8 million for design, construction and new equipment for the security camera system at the terminal; $1.5 million toward design of a new air traffic control tower that will be needed when Lee County Port Authority builds a second runway; and, roughly $178,000 toward re-doing the flight information display system that travelers use at the terminal.

Mark Fisher, port authority deputy executive director for development, said that the new flight display system is halfway through design, with construction expected to begin next summer. He reported that there is still no timeline for the construction of the air traffic control tower which is expected to cost $40 million or more. He said, “Any time we can get a grant to help with that high cost, we take it.” According to him, the security camera-related upgrades will take about a year to design and installation will likely begin late next year or early 2014.

The meeting, which was open to the public, began about 9:30 a.m. at the Airport Conference & Training Center, 15924 Air Cargo Lane, north of the airfield and south of Daniels Parkway.