250-FOOT ARCH CLEARED FOR ARLINGTON'S FRONT DOOR

🔴 A 250-foot arch just cleared its biggest federal hurdle — more than double the height of the Lincoln Memorial.

CNBC reports the National Park Service is backing the location and scale of President Donald Trump's proposed Triumphal Arch, despite its own finding that the structure would adversely affect historic properties and sightlines around Washington.

The site: Memorial Circle, the roundabout near the main entrance to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

The report identified adverse effects on dozens of historic properties, including the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Those effects are about changes to views and the skyline, not physical damage.

The agency's reasoning is unusual. It said alternative locations may reduce or avoid some of the harm, but would sever the project from the historic planning precedent that justifies putting it there in the first place.

It also argued a smaller arch would more completely block the historic view between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington, while the 250-foot version frames that sightline through its central opening.

The agency wrote that the arch "continues this historic lineage" and "celebrates 250 years of American independence."

Public response has been heavy. The park service logged more than 100,000 comments during the initial June consultation, plus another 6,254 during a reopened July period. The project has drawn backlash from lawmakers, conservationists and veterans over the skyline and local traffic.

Would you want a 250-foot arch at the gates of Arlington?

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