OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
10:10 AM – Saturday, September 5, 2026
Excavation work for a triumphal arch in the nation’s capital is expected to begin in the next two weeks, according to President Donald Trump’s administration.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced in multiple posts on X on Thursday that the project will finally begin.
“We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years!), we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery,” Burgum wrote. “This will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful Capital in the World.”
Burgum noted that Congress had called for a monument on Columbia Island more than 100 years ago, defending the Trump administration’s project despite detractors claiming it lacks necessary congressional approval.
“In 1902, the U.S. Senate’s ‘McMillan Commission’ called for ‘a concourse suited to memorial treatment be established’ on the westerly terminus of the Memorial Bridge,” the secretary said.
He added that the 1924 Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission stated that the island “was always considered as a suitable site for formal park treatment, a fitting end for the Memorial Bridge, as well as an important feature in itself,” and specifically desired “architectural adornment in a measure supplemental to the Lincoln Memorial across the river.”
However, the intended adornments never came to fruition, leaving the site a “barren traffic circle.”
“Over 70 major cities/capitals around the world, from London, Paris and Rome to Madrid, Athens and New Delhi, all showcase beautiful arches. Interestingly, Washington, DC, is the only major Western capital without an arch,” Burgum’s statement concluded. “Now after 125 years of waiting, the most powerful capital in the world will be home of the most spectacular and beautiful arch of them all!”
Burgum included an artistic rendering of the planned 250-foot-tall white memorial arch. It is stamped with “ONE NATION UNDER GOD” and features golden eagles with their wings spread wide. It’s topped with a gold female figure with wings and a torch, reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty.
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