Arlington National Cemetery’s southern expansion project continued to take shape in 2025, preparing the way for 80,000 additional spaces for graves and urns just north of Columbia Pike.
In a video update posted last week, the cemetery spotlighted a new parking garage and other buildings under construction in a forthcoming service complex, along with progress on improved pedestrian access to the Air Force Memorial and the realignment of a portion of Columbia Pike to accommodate the expansion.
A number of roads were closed and there were reports of a strong odor of gas near the Pentagon due to a major gas line rupture Monday afternoon.
Initial reports suggest a 12-inch gas line was struck around 1:15 p.m., at the construction site for the Arlington National Cemetery expansion near the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Joyce Street.
Heavy traffic and some road closures are expected around Arlington National Cemetery this weekend as volunteers lay holiday wreaths at thousands of headstones.
Following record turnout and traffic backups during Family Pass Holder Day last Sunday, the cemetery is, as usual, encouraging volunteers to take the Metro to either Rosslyn or the Pentagon on Saturday. The Arlington Cemetery Metro stop will also be open, but congestion is expected there.
Holiday wreaths are returning to the graves of fallen service members in Arlington National Cemetery next month.
This year’s Wreaths Across America Day is on Saturday, Dec. 13. Beginning at 8 a.m., the annual event is expected to bring crowds around the cemetery as volunteers lay wreaths at thousands of headstones and columbarium niches.
President Donald Trump has been floating plans for a new arch monument at a heavily trafficked roundabout near Arlington National Cemetery.
Depicting a winged “Lady Liberty” flanked by two eagles, the monument — called “Independence Arch” in mock-ups but now known by the informal name “Arc de Trump” — would stand in a traffic circle on the Virginia side of Memorial Bridge, about a quarter mile from the Arlington Cemetery Metro station.
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Restoring a memorial to the Confederacy that was removed from Arlington National Cemetery at the recommendation of Congress will cost roughly $10 million total, a U.S. Army official said Wednesday — the latest development in a Trump administration effort to combat what it calls “erasing American history.”
By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Washington, D.C.-area statues commemorating the Confederacy will be restored and replaced, in line with President Donald Trump’s pushback on recent efforts to reframe America’s historical narrative.
By TARA COPP Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Army’s history is closely tied to its cavalry units, those soldiers who rode into battle on horseback. But the service announced Tuesday that it’s moving toward a future without the ceremonial horses and will put most of them up for adoption.
By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump paid tribute to fallen service members during a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, in an address that honored the “great, great warriors” yet also briefly veered into politics as he boasted of a nation he is “fixing after a long and hard four years.”
By MIKE PESOLI Associated Press
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — For the last two years, Army Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Jay has been dutifully guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Traffic and delays are expected around Arlington National Cemetery this weekend as thousands of visitors remove holiday wreaths from graves.
The annual “wreaths out” event will take place beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday. Volunteers are expected to remove approximately 257,000 wreaths from the National Cemetery, along with about 14,000 from the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery in D.C.
Wreaths honoring fallen service members are arriving at Arlington National Cemetery this weekend.
About 75 tractor-trailers loaded with handmade balsam wreaths will arrive in the county starting on Friday in preparation for the event expected to draw several thousand volunteers.
