Construction crews building the massive triumphal arch proposed by President Donald Trump would work in two 10-hour shifts daily until the monument celebrating the nation’s military history is complete, according to a new assessment released by the National Park Service.
Erecting the 250-foot-tall arch in a traffic circle at the head of the Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River would take two to three years on the proposed schedule, according to the documents released earlier this month. The plan suggests a sizable disruption along a major thoroughfare in the nation’s capital.
The year-round construction schedule emerged from the NPS’s initial review of the arch’s impacts required under the National Historic Preservation Act. The Trump administration has fast-tracked the review process, which examines how historic properties and the Washington landscape would be reshaped by the towering project. The administration is aiming to commission the monument in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday this year.
According to the NPS review, construction would begin with several months of site excavation. Drilling rigs would be deployed to construct a foundation system, and caissons would be installed to 75-foot depths to reach bedrock.
