FAA says proposed Trump arch in Washington would need red obstruction lights

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) – A U.S. agency said Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot (76 m) tall Independence Arch would need red safety lights but does not pose ​any safety impacts to traffic at nearby Reagan Washington ‌National Airport.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it will next conduct a full aeronautical study in coordination with the National Park Service. The preliminary review said the arch in Washington would need to be lit with red obstruction lights. The proposed ‌arch ​is 3,000 feet from Reagan National and ⁠within the airport’s main ⁠approach and departure corridor.

The FAA generally requires the blinking red warning lights on buildings above 200 feet near airports to warn pilots at night, like on the nearby 555-foot tall Washington Monument.

Trump ​wants the Arch to be built in Washington across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial near Arlington National Cemetery. The structure ⁠is reminiscent of the Arc de ⁠Triomphe in Paris but much larger.

The height of the ​arch, with eagle statues and a Lady Liberty-type figure on top, has ​been estimated at 250 feet. That is higher than the ‌Lincoln Memorial and not far off the size of the U.S. Capitol, which at 288 feet can be seen across much of Washington.

By contrast, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris is 164 feet high.

The ⁠National Capital Planning Commission advanced the project on June 4 while asking for more information about how the structure would impact flight paths.

A lawsuit has ⁠been filed seeking to ‌block the project. The suit argues allowing construction ⁠to proceed would cause irreversible harm to a ​protected historic ‌landscape in the heart of the capital.

The suit ​argues Congress ⁠must approve any major new structure on federally administered land in the District of Columbia. The Justice Department has argued that Congress authorized large structures at the planned site decades ago and delegated authority to the National Park Service to modify their design.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing ​by William Maclean)