Trump appointee Travis Voyles ended consultation on the planned 250-foot Washington arch, cutting off a federally required review before construction. The National Park Service says the project would adversely affect 42 historic properties.
Voyles said further talks were unlikely to produce an agreement on a memorandum to address the harms, and that alternatives to reduce them would change the project’s fundamental nature. The advisory council will make its own recommendations to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum; the administration is seeking a federal commission’s approval to begin construction as soon as this fall.
An August assessment said the arch would obstruct views of the Washington Monument, Arlington House, the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol dome. Veterans groups have sued, alleging the project would obstruct views of military cemeteries and unlawfully bypass Congress. A federal judge ordered the administration to give at least 14 days’ notice before construction begins.
