President Donald Trump has directed contractors to redo weeks of work on his planned White House helipad, frustrated with its appearance and questioning whether the slope of the White House lawn needs to be changed, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss his private comments.
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Trump has made the helipad a priority, ordering that work begun in June be completed by a state visit in September, but was dissatisfied with the results, the people said. The White House’s South Lawn, where the helipad is being built, slants downward. Trump has expressed a desire for a landing pad that sits level with the horizon, prompting contractors to disassemble their work and consider whether to start by changing the lawn itself, the people said.
Photographs obtained by The Washington Post on Tuesday show how contractors have taken apart their work, including a 100-foot-wide granite presidential seal that was beginning to take shape last week.
Construction crews having been working around-the-clock on the project, which Trump hopes will wrap up before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits in late September, The Post reported last month.
It was unclear how much additional cost or time the latest changes would add to the $5 million-plus project, which is being paid for by Lockheed Martin. It owns the company that manufactures the helicopters.
Lockheed Martin did not immediately respond to a question on Tuesday about whether it had been asked to cover any additional costs. Clark Construction, the firm that is working on the project, referred questions to the White House, which did not comment on the president’s specific changes.
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“For years, the White House has desperately needed a proper Helipad on White House grounds that will allow the President to land safely and also protect the beautiful South Lawn grass from the fierce exhaust fumes of the incredible Marine One,” spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. “Thanks to President Trump, the White House has never looked better, and it will only continue to get better under his leadership.”
Helipads should be flat for safety but do not need to be perfectly horizontal, to ensure water runoff, according to federal recommendations. The South Lawn, used for decades by helicopters that transport the president, slopes downward about 20 degrees in some places, the White House has previously said. That exceeds the recommended slant for helipads. The area chosen for the new helipad is flatter than other places.
The helipad will be near the South Portico, the traditional landing site for Marine One, the call sign for whichever helicopter is being used for the president. The project is intended to address a long-running problem: The new generation of Marine One helicopters runs the risk of burning the lawn.
The VH-92A Patriot, manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft, has exhaust vents that aim heat down, making grass-scorching likely. Sikorsky, which is owned by Lockheed Martin, spent years working with administration officials to find a solution before Trump approved the planned helipad.
In the meantime, Trump is using the Ellipse — a park south of the White House — as a temporary landing zone for Marine One.
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