A 250-foot triumphal arch proposed by President Donald Trump would need red safety lights but otherwise is not a hazard to aircraft departing and landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the FAA has determined.
In a statement provided to AirlineGeeks, the agency said it conducted a preliminary feasibility study and “found no adverse impacts to operations at DCA.”
Experts “determined the only requirement would be the top of the structure would need to be lit with red obstruction lights – a common safety tool,” the statement read.
Generally, all structures over 200 feet should be marked or lighted, according to the FAA’s website.
The FAA is one of several federal agencies examining the potential impact of the arch, which would be located across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial and north of Washington National. The agency will next conduct a full aeronautical study in coordination with the National Park Service.
Trump is looking to build the arch in a traffic circle on Memorial Drive between the western end of Arlington Memorial Bridge and the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. While across the Potomac River, Columbia Island, where the monument would be built, is considered part of D.C.
The arch is controversial, as its height would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial and come close to rivaling the Capitol Building. A public advocacy group has sued to block construction on the grounds that the project has not been approved by Congress and would break the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington.
The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts approved the arch’s preliminary design last month.
