After more than 125 years of waiting, Washington DC is finally getting a triumphal arch.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced this week that excavation work for the United States Triumphal Arch will begin within the next two weeks. The project, also referred to as the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, will be built at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island, positioned at the western end of Arlington Memorial Bridge, between the Lincoln Memorial and the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery.
The structure is planned to reach 250 feet in total height. The main arch will stand 166 feet tall, with statuary added on top to bring it to its full height. The design is neoclassical in style and will include an observation deck. Its concept draws from earlier 20th-century proposals for the same site.
Burgum made the announcement on X, framing it as a long-overdue milestone. As originally reported, Burgum wrote that the site has been the subject of congressional interest for more than 125 years, yet it remains today a bare traffic circle with no monumental structure or significant historic development.
“Despite Congress’ intent, the site became and remains today a barren traffic circle lacking any monumental treatment and significant historic value,” Burgum said in his remarks.
He also pointed to the broader symbolic gap the project would fill. More than 70 major cities and capitals around the world, including London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Athens, and New Delhi, feature prominent arches. Burgum noted that Washington DC is currently the only major Western capital without one.
“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,” he wrote.
Preliminary surveys and geotechnical testing at the site began in May of this year. According to planning documents, full construction is expected to proceed in multiple phases over a period of two to three years. Work is scheduled to run year-round in two 10-hour shifts per day.
Funding has not been fully detailed. Statements indicate the project will rely on a combination of public and private sources, though no specific breakdown has been provided.
The monument is designed to honor the history and significance of Arlington National Cemetery and to serve as a landmark befitting the nation’s capital. If completed as planned, the arch would be among the tallest monumental structures of its kind in any world capital.