b'68 BVU OPERATIONSDrones and Virtual Reality Speed Control Tower Sitingat Boulder City Municipal BY SCOTT BERMANFACTS&FIGURESAirports function amid dynamicregarding approvals Project: Air Traffic Control Tower Siting Study change on many fronts, includingand funding before technology. Coping with suchit can/will. But the Location: Boulder City Municipal Airportchange is essential, but staying ahead of itproject has been Airport Owner/Operator: Boulder City, NV is ideal.actively moving Tools Leveraged: Drones; virtual reality technology Boulder City Municipal Airport (BVU) inforward for about five Siting Study Cost: $60,000 Nevada is ahead of the change curve withyears. In a sense, Environmental Assessment: $150,000 its novel, yet pragmatic and efficient, useconstructing the towerMARISSA ADOUof drone technology to help determine thewill be a marker of Funding: 93.75% from Airport Improvement Program;how things are changing for BVU and the 6.25% from airport ideal site and height of its proposed air traffic control tower. In fact, the generalregion. As Airport Manager Marissa Adou Project Consultant: Kimley-Horn explains, The addition of the tower will Siting Study Assistance: Quadrexaviation airport near Las Vegas may be theenhance and bring an extra layer of safety first to use such a tech-forward alternative Tower & Cab Design: AJT Engineeringapproach for one phase of the traditionalto those traveling in and out of our airport.Drones: DJI Mavic 2 Pro; DJI Matrice 210 FAA tower siting process. At the same time, BVU and its project engineeringBackground and BacklogVirtual Reality Headset: Meta Quest 2 VRStatus: FAA approved site study in May 2022 consultant Kimley-Horn have workedSeveral factors acted as catalysts for the closely with FAA personnel on the process.still-developing project. Adou explains that Environmental Assessment Study: Underway increases in air traffic began at BVU almost Tower & Facility Design: Slated to begin in late 2024 The airport has never had an air traffic20 years ago along with overall growth of Estimated Construction Costs: $14.5 million control tower, and much work remainsthe Las Vegas metropolitan area. Annual March | April 2024AirportImprovement.com'