Trump’s giant arch will have ‘adverse effects’ on Washington

Administration admits 250ft monument will alter historic landscape — but says the damage cannot be avoided

Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot triumphal arch beside Arlington National Cemetery will have “adverse effects” on Washington’s historic landscape and its famous views along the Potomac, the Trump administration has acknowledged.

But despite the admission, the administration says those effects cannot be fully avoided because the controversial structure’s proposed location is “central to the undertaking.”

The extraordinary wording appears in a National Park Service document circulated to historic preservation and planning agencies as officials seek agreement on measures designed to reduce the impact of the project.

A giant new landmark

The proposed arch would rise more than twice the height of the 99-foot Lincoln Memorial nearby, with a gold statue of Lady Liberty with outstretched wings on top.

Four golden lions would sit at its base, while the structure would carry the inscription “One Nation Under God.”

The arch is planned for Memorial Circle, at the western end of Arlington Memorial Bridge and close to the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.

The National Park Service describes the site as a “highly sensitive historic and commemorative landscape”.

Its assessment says the new structure would affect the area’s setting, design, feeling, association, spatial organisation, circulation and contributing views and vistas.

‘Cannot be fully avoided’

The administration says it intends to mitigate the damage through measures including monitoring construction vibrations, controlling noise, archaeological work and improvements to surrounding parkland.

New walkways, curbs, lighting and plantings are also proposed.

But officials have rejected moving the arch elsewhere, saying relocation outside Memorial Circle would create a “materially different undertaking”.

In other words, the location is considered fundamental to the project — even though officials acknowledge that putting the huge structure there will alter a historic landscape.

Veterans fight the project

A group of Vietnam War veterans has already gone to court in an attempt to stop construction.

Their lawyers have asked a federal judge for a temporary restraining order to prevent excavation work from proceeding. They argue that the arch would obstruct views of Arlington National Cemetery and cannot be constructed without congressional authorisation.

The dispute centres partly on federal historic-preservation rules, which require agencies to consult with preservation authorities and attempt to minimise damage to historic properties.

However, the rules do not appear to require agreement from state officials before a federal project can proceed.

Trump’s ‘greatest’ structure

Trump has described the arch as a “wonderful addition” to the Washington area and previously called it the “GREATEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL” structure “anywhere in the world.”

The National Capital Planning Commission approved preliminary site and building plans in July, while making clear that further comments would have to be addressed before final review. The commission records the proposed height as 250 feet.

The project still requires final consideration by the commission.

Its next scheduled meeting is October 1, when the commission will consider projects before it.

More than 100,000 public comments have been received during the consultation process, according to the Interior Department.

And now the administration's own paperwork has put the central controversy into unusually blunt language:

The arch will have adverse effects on the historic landscape.

The argument is no longer whether the impact exists — but whether it is an acceptable price for putting Trump's giant monument exactly where he wants it.

SOURCE

Who is paying for it? Is Trump "spending taxpayer money" without Congressional approval? I'm thinking so.

Tacky and all blinged-up
Will no doubt be knocked up some cowboy builders on a no bid contract
Peeling and crumbling before you know it


A vainglorious waste of money