Construction of President Donald Trump's proposed Triumphal Arch could change traffic patterns near Arlington National Cemetery and Arlington Memorial Bridge for two to three years, forcing drivers to navigate temporary road closures and rerouted turns.
The 250-foot monument is planned for Memorial Circle, at the western end of the Arlington Memorial Bridge just past the Lincoln Memorial. Construction plans submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission detail temporary traffic changes drivers could face during the project.
What roads and traffic patterns will change during construction of Trump's arch?
According to a National Park Service report outlining the project's planned construction impacts, several turns would be restricted around Memorial Circle:
- Washington Boulevard: Northbound drivers would be unable to enter Memorial Circle and would have to turn right onto Arlington Memorial Bridge.
- Memorial Avenue: Eastbound drivers would be unable to turn north onto Arlington Boulevard and would instead be directed onto Arlington Memorial Bridge.
- Arlington Memorial Bridge: Westbound traffic approaching the circle would be reduced to two lanes.
Construction plans also call for closing the southern side of
Memorial Circle for most of the project and routing eastbound traffic from Memorial Avenue around the northern side. The report also calls for temporarily rerouting the sidewalk on the south side of Memorial Circle to the north side.
Construction is expected to generate substantial truck traffic. The National Park Service estimates that 20 to 30 trucks would make about 80 to 100 loads a day, primarily using I-395 and Route 27 to reach the construction staging area. Trucks would be staged and loaded inside the construction site to limit congestion on nearby roads.
The report anticipates additional temporary closures and detours as crews set up construction traffic controls, install utilities and complete work near the end of the project.
"The temporary traffic closures and detours described during construction will have regional traffic impacts that need to be considered beyond the immediate work area," Arlington officials wrote to the National Capital Planning Commission in June. "A broader detour and circulation plan is needed to understand how regional traffic will be redirected around and outside of the work area and the traffic impacts of those detours on parallel roadways."
The project is expected to take approximately two to three years, according to materials submitted by the National Park Service. The report does not specify the timing of individual closures and detours.
These temporary restrictions would apply only during construction and are separate from the proposed traffic changes that would remain once the arch is completed.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What traffic disruptions could construction of Trump's arch bring?
