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PORT OF OAKLAND Background OAK is located adjacent to San Francisco Bay approximately 2 miles west of Interstate 880 in the City of Oakland, California. The City of Oakland is located in Alameda County, which is east of San Francisco County. The RSA improvement project involves the safety areas of Runways 11/29, 9R/27L, and 9L/27R. RSAs are specified in FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5300-13, Airport Design, as a "defined surface surrounding the runway that is prepared or suitable for reducing the risk of damage to airplanes in the event of an undershoot, overshoot, or other excursion from the runway". The FAA defines RSA dimensions for each runway category. The subject RSAs at OAK are required to be 500 feet wide and extend 1,000 feet beyond each runway end. According to FAA guidance, RSAs shall be: 1. Cleared and graded and have no potentially hazardous ruts, humps, depressions or other surface variations; 2. Drained by grading or storm sewers to prevent water accumulations; 3. Capable, under dry conditions, of supporting snow removal equipment, aircraft rescue and firefighting equipment, and the occasional passage of aircraft without causing structural damage to the aircraft; and 4. Free of objects, except for objects that need to be located in the runway safety area because of their function. The existing RSAs for Runways l l 129, 9R/27L, and 9L/27R at OAK do not meet the current FAA standards. The most significant areas of non-compliance include: standing water due to insufficient drainage; uneven terrain due to uneven grading, soft soils and wetlands; and insufficient length of safety areas at the runway ends. Purpose The purpose of the proposed project is to improve safety at OAK by bringing the safety areas of Runways 11/29, 9R/27L, and 9L/27R into compliance with current FAA design standards to the greatest extent practicable. The FAA requires that commercial airports regulated under Part 139 (air carrier) safety rules meet RSA standards where possible. The FAA's national undertaking is to complete all practicable RSA improvements by 2015. The proposed RSA improvements are needed to meet the FAA guidance which includes reducing the risk of damage to aircraft that may undershoot, overrun, or veer off airport runways, thereby improving aircraft and passenger safety. The RSA improvements would also provide increased accessibility for firefighting and rescue equipment during emergency situations. 2