New air traffic control facility plans are on hold

Plans for a new integrated control facility the Federal Aviation Administration — which Riverhead officials were hoping might come to the Calverton Enterprise Park — have been put on hold due to the current budget climate, according to Congressman Tim Bishop’s office.

“It’s not possible to plan for the budgeting the facility would require,” said Oliver Longwell, Bishop’s press secretary. “They believe it’s necessary and cost-effective in the long run, but it’s not possible at this time.”

Longwell said the future of the project, projected to cost $225 million, is dependent on what funding the FAA gets appropriated by Congress. Any decision on its location will be delayed until “reliability is in place,” Longwell said. Calverton and several other locations on Long Island were being considered.

Supervisor Sean Walter and Councilwoman Jodi Giglio met with FAA officials in March to discuss the possible placement of the facility at EPCAL.

“It’s disappointing but we don’t have all our eggs in one basket,” Walter said of the news.

He expressed frustration about the budget process in Washington – “They need to get their act together” – and said concern about safety due to the “antiquated” state of the current facilities is a priority.

The proposed Liberty Integrated Control Facility would replace existing terminal radar approach control facilities, or TRACONs, within the New York Enroute Air Traffic Control Center’s airspace. It would also consolidate the N.Y. Enroute Center’s under-30,000 feet operations into one 250,000-square-foot facility. It would be able to accommodate up to 1,200 workers. It would be the first such facility built by the FAA under its plan to consolidate existing air traffic control facilities in the northeast corridor.

Long Island’s congressional delegation has pushed the FAA to build the facility on Long Island, where it already operates an Air Route Traffic Control Center in Ronkonkoma and a TRACON in Westbury, which employ 850 highly skilled workers combined.

Constructing the facility on Long Island would create more than 1,000 new jobs in addition to retaining the 850 FAA jobs, according to Bishop.

Walter said if the plan falls through for good, “that’s 50 acres that will go to someone else, though he expects at least some portion of the site’s approximately 600 acres of developable land will be available for some time.

“I anticipate a 10- to 15-year buildout process,” he said.

Giglio, who pushed the town board to seek location of the facility in Calverton, initially over Walter’s objection, was upbeat about the prospect of the facility’s placement at EPCAL after the March meeting. She said yesterday FAA representatives have for several months been telling the town to call back the next month for updates.

“It’s an indication that if they do go with the facility, EPCAL is in the running,” Giglio said.

Correction: Due to an editing error, a previously published version of this story incorrectly stated the locations of the Long Island ARTCC and TRACON.