FAA Clears Trump's 250-Foot Arch With Eternal Flame Requirement Near Reagan Airport
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 18
FAA Clears Trump's 250-Foot Arch With Eternal Flame Requirement Near Reagan Airport
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 18
Summary
A Friday FAA hazard study said Trump’s planned 250-foot arch near Ronald Reagan National Airport can proceed for air travel safety if it carries a nonstandard eternal flame and continuous floodlighting.
Less than a mile from the airport and along a flight path, the structure sits in one of the country’s busiest airspaces, prompting the agency to replace its June recommendation for standard red blinking obstruction lights.
The finding advances the project but does not grant final approval, which still rests with the National Capital Planning Commission; Trump last month named ally Mark Paoletta to lead that body.
Vietnam veterans have sued to block construction over the lack of congressional approval and view obstruction concerns, and a federal judge has barred major construction for now unless the administration gives notice first.
Trump has said the arch—planned between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial—would mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence and be taller than Paris’s Arc de Triomphe.