A federal judge has allowed archaeological testing to move forward at the site of President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch, while strengthening requirements that must be met before actual construction can begin.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered on Sept. 4 that the government give 48 hours’ notice before conducting further activity at Memorial Circle, exempting the collection of archaeological information needed for the historic preservation review. He also said construction or demolition before final approval from the National Park Service, or without 14 days’ notice, would violate existing court orders.
The order followed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s Sept. 3 social media post that the department was preparing to begin “necessary excavation work for the Grand Arc de Triomphe” in two weeks between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.
Plaintiffs challenging the project sought an emergency temporary restraining order the next day, arguing that the excavation appeared to violate an April consent order that required NPS to publicly authorize construction and give at least 14 days’ notice of construction or demolition to prepare for it.
Justice Department attorneys responded that Burgum was referring to previously disclosed Phase 1B archaeological evidence, not construction.
NPS Regional Director Jennifer Nersesian said in an affidavit that crews would mechanically excavate four test pits, each about 8 feet by 16 feet, one at each proposed arch base, one at the proposed plaza and a fourth at the proposed sanitary sewer pump station.
A professional archaeologist would supervise excavation beneath the existing fill for soil stratigraphy, archaeological features, and cultural materials. Depending on the depth and conditions of the excavation, support systems or other protection may be necessary.
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Trials are expected to begin no earlier than September 21 and take between seven and 14 days. NPS must still issue a special use permit before construction can begin. The pits and other disturbed areas would then be restored, with work expected to be completed by October 31.
The work is separate from the planned two- to three-month site excavation phase of construction, which would prepare the project’s wider footprint before installing foundations that extend approximately 75 feet into bedrock.
ENR previously reported that Memorial Circle sits on top of 10 to 14 feet of 20th-century fill covering a buried landscape that NPS considers of medium to high sensitivity for intact precolonial or historic resources. The agency says Phase 1B testing must be done before construction.
