Washington DC—Public Citizens and Third Act-DMV were among groups rallying against the Triumphal Arch on Thursday as public outcry over the rushed project is spreading. Hundreds of citizens from across the region joined with several congressional leaders in condemning the controversial project.
The action lasted throughout Thursday as people came and went to Memorial Circle, site of the planned arch build. If completed the arch would rise 250 feet and take at least three years to build. The steel cranes would rise about 300 feet.
The resistors were joined by the DC Activist Street Band a volunteer group of musicians who bring music to support and uplift activists who have been working on complex issues for many months. DCASB played resistance songs and gave the those assembled a backdrop to plan further actions. Among the songs they played were ’All You Fascists Are Bound To Lose,’ and ‘Which Side Are You On.’
Third Act-DMV erected a giant replica arch and added a giant red ‘X’ to emphasize its design was not welcome, especially next to Arlington National Cemetery, the burial site of over 400,000 Veterans and their spouses. They also set up a tent with a place to cool off and provided information to the public on how individuals could get involved to help block construction of the arch. One of the organizers brought home baked cookies while others brought power bars and drinks.
The arch construction is presently pending the results of an archaeological survey and findings of its investigation but it is expected that it will be approved no matter what the findings are. The Section 106 assessment has been closed as of last week, thereby rendering moot any findings that would otherwise suggest the arch should not reside at Memorial Circle and should be built elsewhere.
While many sang songs with DCASB, others held signs next to Mount Vernon Memorial Parkway nearby, while motorists honked with approval. Over 70,000 vehicles transit daily through Memorial Circle and the 3-year construction plan would disrupt the flow of traffic through the circle and add millions of hours of commuter time for those that pass through the circle into and out of Washington DC, Rosslyn, Arlington, the Pentagon, National Airport, and Crystal City.
Susan Douglas, a spokesperson for Third Act-DMV said that the arch was “illegal” and “it’s a slap in the face to the Veterans.” She spoke of the personal affect it would have on families with loved ones resting there. “It’s a desecration to sacred space.”
As to technical issues with the arch—and there are plenty—”It would be a traffic nightmare for 3 years,” she added.
Assuming a commuter passing through this corridor could expect to have their travel time lengthened by 30 minutes—and this is a conservative estimate—based on the fact that many would have to drive many miles to reach destinations and avoid the rerouting in the area—it would cost the 70,000 commuters a combined additional 12,770,500 hours in traffic every year the project continued. That translates into 1,458 human years of time lost to driving per year of construction.
The project would also have knock on effects as the Memorial Bridge is one of only four heavily traveled bridges linking Washington DC to Northern Virginia. Traffic patterns would seize up on both sides of the Potomac River and this project would last 3-years minimum. It would be operated 20 hours a day. This does not take into consideration any inclement weather days.
The National Park Service Assessment did not provide any flow analysis or findings on the effects on vehicle traffic the Arch would have on commuters and the surrounding communities at Fort Meyers, Arlington, Rosslyn, Crystal City, or the Pentagon. The NPS assessment only outlined the traffic patterns that would be changed or blocked altogether.
Then there is the increased risk to air traffic a 25-storied structure would impose on one of the busiest air corridors at one of the busiest airports in the country. Since 1982, there have been three air crashes because of unforeseen conditions by both pilots and air traffic controllers.
Two days after the FAA assessment approved the arch finding of no impacts on commercial aircraft, the White House changed the purpose of the arch to include drone capabilities, sniper posts, and ammunition storage. This altered the nature of commercial aircraft risks in the area. Drones are pilotless and cannot be reached by air traffic controllers. This would inherently create more risks.
Douglas pointed out that drones are not allowed in DC because of national security issues as well as commuter air safety risks drones would impose on the busy National Airport. She assessed that the White House claim that the arch was to used as a military platform for national security purposes was a way to sidestep the possibility that the Supreme Court could disapprove the arch based on a suit brought by three Vietnam Era Veterans. In their suit the Veterans argued that the arch would impose on the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery while disrupting the line of sight between the Lincoln Memorial and the Arlington House.
The approval of and the authorization for funding of national memorials falls under the authority of Congress. The Congress has been entirely sidestepped by the executive branch drafting of the arch project. Whether or not this was by design on the part of the lower chamber, House Speaker Mike Johnson has adjourned the House so often this year that it has not been present to carry out its statutory responsibilities on the matter of the arch as to its status of a national memorial.
This has opened doors up allowing an out of control ‘unitary executive’ to do what it pleases inside a power vacuum of an adjourned and absent House of Representatives.
There are many groups organizing to fight this project and it is one of many issues presently overwhelming institutional guardrails which were established to protect the public. The arch represents another unsafe government interference in civil affairs and an example of unregulated government control. Others include ICE in neighborhoods, degraded food safety standards, excessive surveillance, unwarranted deployment of National Guard troops in Washington DC,
Taken in total, this fight represents a small but important skirmish between a government that is acting in the interests of a few wealthy individuals and donors while disregarding established statutes and protocols designed to protect public interests.
As in the ‘Hands Off The Arts’ now ongoing at the Kennedy Center, its artists, and those who support the arts, the fight against the arch represents a bridge too far for another segment of society—Veterans, their families, and their supporters. It is one part of a widening public resistance to leaders who ignore established legal boundaries while ensuring their own interests are protected.
