US President Donald Trump
A judge temporarily blocked construction from beginning on President Donald Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch in Washington late Thursday, shortly after it won a key approval. US district judge Tanya Chutkan issued a 14-day restraining order following the National Capital Planning Commission 8-4 vote to approve the project. The Trump administration contends Congress approved the arch more than 100 years ago when it also authorised construction of a bridge across the Potomac River. Above-ground construction would start in May 2027 at the earliest, with the job expected to take 33 to 39 months total.
“The sheer improbability that a 100-year-old statute would contain authority, unknown to every previous administration, to erect a 250-foot arch at a principal location in the nation’s capital indicates how far (the govt) must stretch to justify this project,” Chutkan wrote. The justice department had said earlier that if the project had been approved it expected an initial six to eight months of construction focused on excavation and foundation work could begin as soon as Thursday. “It will snarl traffic for years, impact the nearby airport, and present serious threats to public safety that this commission has refused to acknowledge and grapple with,” said Representative Don Beyer, a Democrat who represents northern Virginia.