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

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) EvaluationIntegrated Cargo Facility - North Apron AreaThere are numerous constraints in the North Apron area of the Airport, including the legal constraint of 14 CFRPart 77, which dictates the acceptable locations of buildings and parked aircraft in relation to runways. Forexample, Hangar No. 1 presents a safety issue because it penetrates the ROFA of Runway 16-34. Outside theROFA, there is an additional 14 CFR Part 77 constraint: the tails of parked aircraft must be at least 815 feet fromthe centerline of a runway. This leaves a wide area adjacent to both runways unusable for many airport facilitiesbecause aircraft cannot park there. The suitable area can be seen on Figure 7-8 as a V shape east ofRunway 16-34 and west of Runway 5-23. The size of the Integrated Cargo Facility is large enough that it cannotreasonably be constructed in the North Apron area without impacting the existing buildings south of AirportRoad, or without requiring that Airport Road be relocated north of its existing alignment. Moving the proposedIntegrated Cargo facility farther to the west in the area vacated by the demolished Hangar No. 1 would not befeasible because of the 14 CFR Part 77 constraint on parked aircraft (Figure 7-8). There would not be sufficientroom for airplane parking if the Integrated Cargo Facility was sited in another location within the North ApronArea. Therefore, the option of locating the Integrated Cargo Facility to a different site within the North Apronarea is not feasible or prudent.Integrated Cargo Facility – Alternative B2 LocationAnother option considered to avoid impacts to the Rhode Island State Airport Terminal was to construct thesame Integrated Cargo Facility proposed under Alternative B2 (Option 1 in Figure 7-8) for Alternative B4.However, the Integrated Cargo Facility proposed under Alternative B2 could only be constructed if AirportRoad were fully relocated (as proposed under Alternative B2). A portion of the existing road would have to beclosed, removed, and converted to taxiway to allow aircraft to access the Integrated Cargo Facility directly(Figure 7-8). Fully Relocated Airport Road is expensive (construction and land acquisition costs are estimated at$50 million) and results in natural resource and community impacts that would not occur under Alternative B4.In fact, Alternative B4 was developed to minimize impacts to natural resources and the community, and as aresult costs were reduced. Adding Fully Relocated Airport Road to Alternative B4 to avoid impacts to theRhode Island State Airport Terminal would result in the impacts Alternative B4 was specifically designed toavoid, in terms of community disruption, the effects on the natural environment, and costs. These considerableimpacts outweigh the importance of protecting the setting of Rhode Island State Airport Terminal. The buildingitself would not be impacted under Alternative B4. Therefore, this option is not prudent.Integrated Cargo Facility – Modify Hangar No. 2 OnlyAnother option was to modify Hangar No. 2 to accommodate the integrated cargo operations but not constructthe additional cargo building that is proposed under Alternative B4 (Option 2 in Figure 7-8). This would alsoavoid impacts to the Rhode Island State Airport Terminal. Hangar No. 2 would have minimal interiormodifications to accommodate the cargo operations and this would result in de minimis physical impacts.However, by not providing an additional 50,000 square feet of space for integrated cargo, this option onlypartially meets the Purpose and Need (documented in Chapter 2, Purpose and Need). While this option is notprudent because it does not fully meet the project Purpose and Need, it may be retained for furtherconsideration at a later date, when improved cargo facilities are to be implemented.Chapter 7 – Final Section 4(f)/Section 6(f) Evaluation 7-16 July 2011\\Mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH07_4(f)_JUL_2011.doc