Excavation work on President Donald Trump’s triumphal arch is scheduled to begin over the next two weeks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Sept. 3.
“This will be one of the great pieces of American architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful capital in the world,” Burgum said in a post on X.
Burgum also included pictures of what the arch would look like.
The proposed monument would include a mezzanine level at 166 feet, a 24-foot-high observation deck, and a 60-foot statue of Lady Liberty at the top.
The structure, which is intended to mark America’s 250th anniversary, would prominently display the inscriptions “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All.”
It was inspired by the 164-foot-high Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
The proposal has sparked a legal challenge.
A group of veterans and a historian, represented by public interest law firm Public Citizen Litigation Group, have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block construction, arguing that the arch would interfere with the historic sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House, among other concerns.
The Justice Department has responded that Congress approved large structures at the planned site decades ago and gave authority to the National Park Service to change their design.
The National Park Service released a report on the arch on Aug. 28 that supported the project but warned there would be adverse effects on the sightlines between a host of iconic landmarks such as the Washington Monument and Lincoln and Jefferson memorials.
The arch, announced last October, is proposed to be built on a man-made island overseen by the National Park Service, located on the Virginia side of the Potomac River near Memorial Bridge, which connects to the Lincoln Memorial.
At 250 feet, the structure would be significantly taller than the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet tall, and roughly half the height of the Washington Monument.
It is one of the numerous projects Trump has undertaken as part of his stated goal of beautifying the nation’s capital.
The president also seeks to renovate East Potomac Golf Links, build an arch near the Lincoln Memorial, and construct a ballroom on White House grounds.
He renovated the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which will need to be refilled after deficiencies were found. The president blamed vandalism as well as contractor error.
Although the arch proposal has been approved by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning Commission, the federal government’s planning agency for the D.C. region, has to give final approval for the project.
When it will do so is to be determined.
The commission met on Sept. 3, but the arch was not on the agenda.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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