Polk County's best-known airport is getting a major upgrade.

It's a $4.3 million air control tower at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport.

The current control tower built in 1981 is only 50 feet tall and doesn't meet FAA guidelines. The biggest problem is with the size of the tower. It limits how far controllers can see.

That's an issue because the airport has lengthened its runways over the year and the runways will be getting even longer in the future.

"Right now, at 50 feet tall, you can barely see the end of our runway at this point because of the location," airport director Gene Conrad said. "When our runway goes to 10,000 feet some time in the future, you need to be able to see all of what are called movement ares that our aircraft will be on."

The new tower will be 135 feet tall, according to The Ledger of Lakeland. More than three-quarters of the funding will come from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Construction on the near tower should start by the end of the year. It's expected to take more than a year to finish.