The Trump administration’s plan for a 250-foot “triumphal arch” near Memorial Bridge keeps advancing — even as opposition across Northern Virginia keeps growing.
Pitched as a monument to the nation’s 250th anniversary, the arch would rise more than two and a half times the height of the Lincoln Memorial at the western end of Arlington Memorial Bridge. Critics have questioned both its historical basis and its place in the protected vista between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
The project has cleared one milestone after another since the spring. New renderings emerged, a federal commission approved the concept and then the design, and survey crews began work near Memorial Circle. This month brought word of a year-round construction schedule, and the project cleared another review despite concerns about sightlines from the cemetery.
The opposition has grown louder in step. Rep. Don Beyer (D) has introduced a bill to block the arch, and this week a coalition of state lawmakers urged the National Park Service to reject it outright, calling the structure incompatible with the historic landscape at the gateway to the cemetery.
The administration has signaled it intends to press ahead and may not seek congressional approval.
Matters of process and politics aside, however, what do you think about the arch in practicality? At the end of the day, would you like to see it built?
