Airport Tree Clearing To Begin; Runway Will Be Closed During Work

 CHATHAM – The removal of trees on Chatham Airport property will begin Nov. 30. The airport runway will be closed while the work is being done.

 The long-planned obstruction removal project is expected to take 42 days with a pause during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. The work will take place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The runway will be open after 5 p.m. and on Sundays during the work period.

 “When the construction is ongoing, the runway needs to be closed because we are doing work within the approaches,” said Matt Caron of airport commission consulting engineers Gale Associates.

 Removal and trimming of trees on private property, mostly along Agnes Way at the northeast end of the runway, will be delayed, however. It’s been four years since the initial obstruction study, said Airport Commission Chair Huntley Harrison, and the areas subject to the work need to be reassessed.

 “There may be more trees, unfortunately, that need attention that did in 2022,” he said at the commission’s Oct. 14 meeting. The reassessment is scheduled to happen in the spring.

 The trimming and removal of trees on and off airport property has been contentious, with airport critics claiming the work was unnecessary, would infringe on private property rights and would leave large areas around the airport clearcut. The commission countered that trees have grown into the airspace in the runway takeoff and landing zones creating a safety hazard and that trees would be selectively removed or trimmed, not clearcut. Federal Aviation Administration regulations and the town’s own bylaws require that trees deemed to be obstructions to air travel be trimmed or removed, according to the commission.

 The project underwent extensive review, including hearings by the conservation commission for work in areas around wetlands on the 97-acre airport property. The conservation commission set strict criteria for selective tree removal within a 2.8-acre area, including near a vernal pool.

 The total work area for the tree trimming and removal covers about 6.5 acres, according to Harrison. The total number of trees to be removed or trimmed will depend on conditions on the ground once contractor Lucianos Excavation of Taunton starts work. However, the area around the vernal pool where the conservation commission allowed work involves approximately 200 trees. The commission has budgeted $15,000 to contribute to the town’s tree fund to replace the trees at another location, according to Harrison.

The work set to begin next month includes two private parcels where the owners have given permission to remove trees: the Ocean State Job Lot property and land at 1652 Main St. Both are at the southwestern end of the runway. It will also include work on parcels owned by the Kelsey and Owens families over which the airport has easements for the tree removal.

 The cost of the project is $615,990, with $221,670 from the federal government, $311,955 from the state and $82,365 from the town. 

The runway closure comes at a time when activity at the airport is traditionally slow, Harrison said. While the airport discourages landings and takeoffs before 7 a.m. and after 10 p.m., exceptions may have to be made during the runway closure.

“That’s going to be something we’ll have to deal with on a case-by-case basis,” Harrison said. The commission will notify charter flight companies of the closure. “I really don’t think it will have a great impact,” he added.

“Operations are quite low” at that time of year, agreed commission vice chair Michael Cortese, “so the timing is perfect, actually.”

Upgrading of the airport’s navigational aids will be done concurrent with the tree work to take advantage of the runway closure, so that the facility does not have to be shut down at a separate time for that work, said Harrison. Cullen Electrical Contractors has been hired for the project, funded by $142,500 in state and federal money along with a $7,500 contribution from the town approved at last May’s annual town meeting.