The Justice Department told a judge Wednesday that construction on President Donald Trump’s “Triumphal Arch” could begin on Nov. 5, the same day the National Capital Planning Commission is meeting to vote on the project.
In a court filing, the DOJ said if the commission approves the approximately 250-foot-tall arch and the Department of Interior issues a final decision authorizing construction, “construction or demolition in preparation for construction of an arch on Memorial Circle could commence immediately” on Nov. 5.
The administration last week released final plans for Trump’s towering, gilded arch, which notably excluded the “military complex” he had said it would host and didn’t include references to a national security purpose.
Trump said in September that he agreed, at the military’s request, to convert the structure into a “top grade military complex” complete with drones, snipers and ammunition storage. The Pentagon declined to comment on Trump’s claims.
A spokesperson for the Interior Department said in an emailed statement that the structure could host those features, even though they were not specified in the plans.
“The current design of the Triumphal Arch is capable of accommodating the national security functions — and more — highlighted in the President’s Truth Social post,” the unidentified spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The documents included site maps and renderings of the arch. One response to questions from the NCPC asked for a justification for the structure’s size. The National Park Service, part of the Interior Department, cited the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
“The proposed arch would be an approximately 250-foot-tall reinforced concrete structure clad in stone and ornamented by a central figure and two eagles, positioned above each arch leg. The arch would be 166 feet wide with a 55-foot-wide opening, providing views from the observation deck to area landmarks,” the final project synopsis filed with the NCPC reads.
Critics say the project, one of many the Republican president is pushing in an effort to leave a mark on Washington, will disrupt historic sightlines in Washington, D.C. It’s also facing lawsuits from a veteran’s group, the Arlington County Board and an architectural historian.
The arch is proposed for a circle adjacent to the Memorial Bridge connecting the nation’s capital with northern Virginia. The arch’s opponents say it’s too big and would disrupt the view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, meant to symbolize the reunification of the North and the South after the Civil War.
A National Park Service report released in August 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.
