WASHINGTON, D.C. — City and Virginia leaders went to federal court in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Oct. 31, asking a judge to halt a planned 250-foot memorial arch on Memorial Circle, the island where Memorial Bridge lands on the Virginia side.
The 46-page complaint, brought by District Attorney General Brian Schwalb and his Virginia counterpart Jay Jones, names the Interior Department and the National Park Service as defendants. The two want a temporary restraining order in place before any ground is broken.
Their filing argues the monument would rise almost twice as high as the District cap of 130 feet and has no sign-off from Congress. They also say a build lasting two to three years would leave the bridge with just two westbound lanes, choke a key commuter link and slow ambulances and fire trucks.
This is the third case aimed at the arch. The first came from a group of Vietnam War veterans joined by an architectural historian, and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan took up that case Friday but has not ruled. Separately, the Arlington County Board brought its own case earlier this month.
Federal planners on the National Capital Planning Commission take up final designs online Nov. 5 at 1 p.m., and government lawyers have said crews could start that afternoon. A 106-page plan filed Friday puts a winged bronze Lady Liberty holding a torch at the top, with an observation deck inside.
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Filed under: Washington DC Politics News
