More U.S. Navy facilities are moving to Aquidneck Island, some of them returning, in fact, after an absence of years. For example, Officer Candidate School is returning from Pensacola, Fla. Newport lost naval facilities to belt-tightening four decades ago; now it is getting some back.

But Naval Station Newport (which extends north into Middletown and Portsmouth) plans to shed some surplus facilities, too, especially tank farms up and down the west shore of Aquidneck. The island’s three communities plan to improve the shoreline and reduce congestion on West Main Road. These plans rely on the Navy’s cooperation.

The Navy has been a good partner along with officials directing improvements in the West Side Master Plan, announced in 2005 by the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission. Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth all recognize that for the Navy, achieving its mission is the top priority.

And yet after acting recently to confirm the commission’s expectations of surplus land and facilities the Navy wants to sell, it nixed the commission’s hope for a better connection between Burma Road and Coddington Highway. It seems that the Burma traffic may end up back on West Main Road — a serious setback to plans for a scenic road that would also alleviate the island’s growing traffic problems.

We hope that the Navy will ultimately conclude, after all, that sparing West Main from further congestion promotes its mission as well as commerce, (including tourism) and the quality of life for the rest of the island. In addition, the value of the tank farms and other surplus facilities it wants to sell can only increase if Aquidneck’s future seems likely to improve.