The Trump administration said on Thursday that excavation work will start over the next two weeks on the site where it plans to build a towering, gilded arch, a project that is facing a lawsuit and that critics say will disrupt historic sightlines in Washington DC.
The proposed arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing to leave his lasting imprint on Washington, including renaming and renovating the Kennedy Center, building a huge new White House ballroom, refurbishing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and rebuilding a golf course in East Potomac Park that could significantly reduce the public’s access to running and biking paths.
“This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture,” the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, wrote on X, “befitting the most powerful Capital in the World”.
Along with the announcement on X, Burgum posted artistic mockups of the planned ۲۵۰-ft-tall (۷۶-meter) memorial arch, which will stand between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
The renderings showed a towering, white arch with gold detail, stamped with “ONE NATION UNDER GOD”. On its top is a Lady Liberty-like gold figure with wings and a torch, as well as gold eagles, their wings spread outward.
A National Park Service report released on Friday backed the project, though it said there would be adverse effects to the sightlines between a host of iconic landmarks, disrupting the historical significance of dozens of nearby sites.
Many of Washington’s monuments, buildings and sites have been carefully planned over decades to reflect significant moments in the nation’s history and to evoke symbolism through sightlines that connect them to other landmarks.
A lawsuit filed by three veterans and an architectural historian argues “congressional authorization is necessary and lacking for this project”, said Nicolas Sansone, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group representing the plaintiffs.
“We believe that construction cannot and should not proceed apace, and we are prepared to inform the court that it needs to, at this juncture, needs to step in,” he said. Sansone did not specify what their next court filing would be, but he added that he’s “very confident” that they’ll find success.
Burgum, in a series of posts on X, defended the arch’s construction on historical grounds, arguing that the idea for a monument had been bouncing around for more than a century, citing old reports of congressional attempts at and discussions of a monument in the circle.
“Despite Congress’s intent, the site became and remains today a barren traffic circle lacking any monumental treatment and significant historic value,” he wrote, adding that over ۷۰ cities worldwide had “beautiful arches” but now the US will have the “most spectacular and beautiful arch of them all”.
The court case is ongoing, with the Department of Justice filing a new document on Thursday arguing that the lawsuit should be thrown out.
