T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluationdirectly impact the eligible airport historic district, the Rhode Island State Airport Terminal, and Hangar No. 2.At a minimum, both the Terminal and Hangar No. 2 would become airspace penetrations and would need to bedemolished. Because of the magnitude of direct impacts to commercial businesses and residences along PostRoad, the existing Sundlund Passenger Terminal, and other historical properties, a major realignment ofRunway 16-34 either to the east or to the west is not feasible or prudent.Relocate Hangar No. 1Moving Hangar No. 1 to another location so that it is no longer an obstruction to the navigable airspace wouldavoid its demolition. Evaluation of this option raised a number of physical and practical issues. A practicalconsideration is that there is not another location on the airfield (with direct airfield access) where the Hangarcould be relocated outside of the protected airspace of the T.F. Green Airport. (If it is not relocated in an area ofthe Airport with direct airfield access, it can no longer continue to be used as an airplane hangar.) There are noairport locations within Rhode Island at Quonset, Block Island, North Central Newport, or Westerly Airportsthat could accommodate Hangar No. 1 with appropriate airside and landside access. Additionally, moving the54,000-square foot building to another location may not be feasible due to the size and mass of the structure.Although it may be physically possible to separate and move the individual sections of the building, the processof separation and reconstruction would compromise the Hangar’s structural integrity and would result insubstantial costs (approximately $4.5 million). Finally, relocating Hangar No. 1 to a location outside of theeligible airport historic district would remove the Hangar from its historical setting on T.F. Green Airport.Therefore, this option is not prudent.Partially Demolish Hangar No. 1The fourth option would be to remove only the section of Hangar No. 1 which protrudes into the Part 77primary surface and the TOFA (Figure 7-5). However, the limits of Part 77 primary surface and the TOFAwould result in impacts (removal) to over two-thirds of Hangar No. 1. The only part of the building that wouldremain would be the east office wing of the structure. The historically significant five bay central façade facingAirport Road would be impacted by both the Part 77 primary surface and the TOFA. Removing these portionsof the building would severely compromise the historical integrity of the building and those characteristics thatmake the structure eligible for listing in the NRHP; therefore, this option would not be prudent.Hangar No. 2Alternative B2 would result in a constructive use of Hangar No. 2 because Fully Relocated Airport Road wouldsubstantially limit the public view and access to the Hangar. Two avoidance alternatives were considered toavoid relocating Airport Road so as to avoid impacting the public view and access to Hangar No. 2. These twooptions, constructing a tunnel under the Runway 23 End and extending Runway 5-23 to the south, are describedfor the Rhode Island State Airport Terminal evaluation in the previous section.7.6.1.2 Alternative B4This section describes the avoidance alternatives that were evaluated for each Section 4(f) property impactedunder Alternative B4.Chapter 7 – Final Section 4(f)/Section 6(f) Evaluation 7-14 July 2011\\Mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH07_4(f)_JUL_2011.doc