HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- The U.S. Air Force announces the availability of an Environmental Assessment to remove, replace or repair five of the eight bridges located within the Patriot Golf Course on the property of the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts.
The Patriot Golf Course, managed by the 66th Force Support Squadron, is located on land that belongs to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The golf course is bisected by an unnamed tributary that flows into Spring Brook. All eight bridges cross the unnamed tributary: seven golf cart/pedestrian bridges and one vehicular bridge.
The proposed action involves five of the eight bridges: bridges two, three, four, seven and eight. Each bridge identified for removal, replacement or repair has structural concerns.
Bridges two, three and eight are golf cart/ pedestrian bridges.
Bridge seven is a golf cart/ pedestrian bridge that has collapsed into the unnamed tributary, impeding water flow.
Bridge four is a vehicular bridge that extends the access road, which runs from west to east through the central portion of the golf course.
The purpose of the proposed action is to restore unrestricted access, particularly for emergency vehicles, over the unnamed tributary, and to improve safety and accessibility to all areas of the nine-hole golf course for pedestrians, golf carts and vehicular traffic.
Construction and improvement activities are subject to the requirements and objectives of Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands, and Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, because wetlands may be potentially impacted. The U.S. Air Force requests advance public comment to determine if there are any public concerns regarding the project’s potential impact to wetlands and floodplains.
The Air Force would also like to solicit public input or comments on potential project alternatives. The proposed action will be analyzed in a forthcoming Environmental Assessment, and the public will have the opportunity to comment on the draft Environmental Assessment when it is released.
Written comments or requests for more information on the EA will be received through April 19 and may be mailed to: Scott Sheehan, 66 ABG/CEIE, 120 Grenier Street, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731. For information about this project, contact Sheehan at 781-225-6144.