Top photo: Senator Mikulski addresses the crowd.
Bottom photo: Senator Cardin speaks to today's gathering.
Construction of the tower is expected to be completed within 18 months and is funded by a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The airport has two runways and handles a diverse mix of aircraft, including presidential helicopter Marine One. In recent years, the largest growth segment for the airport has been in corporate jets. With two flight restriction areas within a few miles of the airport, it is expected that an air traffic control tower will serve a larger homeland security role by significantly decreasing the number of intrusions into restricted airspace.
