Sec. Sean Duffy says the major upgrades new federal funding would provide will benefit transit systems across the Metroplex, as well as helping handle travelers for the FIFA World Cup this summer.
U.S. Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy spoke with FOX 4's Casey Stegall Friday about new federal funding for airport and air traffic control upgrades which will affect DFW.
Millions in federal funding are headed to DFW for safety and airport improvements. The nation's transportation chief was in DFW on Friday, talking everything from aviation to the World Cup at one of the top five busiest airports on the planet. Sec. Sean Duffy says the major upgrades new federal funding would provide will benefit transit systems across the Metroplex, as well as helping handle travelers for the FIFA World Cup this summer.
The Department of Transportation has announced a new $835 million investment for tech improvements at 41 airports in two dozen states. Of that, $24 million is headed to DFW International. A plane takes off from DFW every 85 seconds, but the backbone that keeps it all running like a well-oiled machine is in need of a tune-up.
We've heard a lot about aging infrastructure at our nation's airports, and in Dallas specifically, major updates haven't been seen in quite some time.
"Across the network, it hasn't really been updated in decades," Duffy said in his FOX 4 interview. "This should have been done years ago. But as I've come into this position, I did a deep dive in the first couple of months to see how bad it was. And what I discovered was everything needs to be built brand new.
" A lot of those upgrades will come in the form of enhancement for air traffic control, which took huge hits in recent months nationwide. "We use copper wires. We're going to go to fiber — new radars, new radio, new voice switches, new equipment for our controllers in the towers," Duffy said.
"All really important equipment on the safety side and the redundancy side. "U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is seeking $10 billion from Congress to advance the next phase of modernizing the nation’s aging air traffic control system. Another billion dollars will be spent on enhancing the travel experience for families at 45 airports.
"Here in Dallas, we're going to expand your bathrooms, making them more accessible for strollers and changing tables. ""We're moving at an incredibly fast speed. The $12.5 billion for the new network, the radios, the radar — all will be done in two and a half years," said Duffy. Safer skies are the long-term goal.
The short-term test will be guiding a global crowd through North Texas for the World Cup.
"We've given $10 million to Dallas to help with the transportation needs you're going to have in the city," said Duffy. "You're going to have more capacity than you normally have, so it's going to help if you need to bring in more buses, more drivers, more overtime, to make sure we can move people through the city. "
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