Construction at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has fallen “a little behind schedule,” according to federal officials.
Translation: The hundreds of thousands of tourists descending on the National Mall this holiday weekend will be staring at wire fences and a cement slab instead of cool water.
The iconic pool was drained in 2010 for a $33 million rehabilitation project and was expected to reopen by this spring.
| Project highlights |
| ? Replace leaking concrete pool |
| ? Install water pumps to filter water from Tidal Basin |
| ? Install sidewalks to replace dirt paths |
| ? Increase security |
| ? Resurface North and South Elm Walks and install lights and benches |
| Source: National Park Service |
But officials now say that won’t happen. Instead, they hope to have the national symbol back to its former glory by the height of tourism season on the Fourth of July.
“We’re working as fast as we can to get it ready so summer visitors can enjoy it,” National Park Service spokeswoman Carol Johnson said Friday. “The Reflecting Pool is so iconic that it, of course, has been a loss for visitors while it’s being restored.”
Bill Line, an NPS spokesman, said this is just the reality of maintaining the nation’s monuments.
“The 16 national parks in the Greater Washington, D.C. area at various different times have construction projects in all of them,” he said. “The general public that comes to the region’s parks as a whole understand that construction happens. It’s part of life in America.”
Georgetown residents Tonya and Darrel Bilbrey were among those walking along the pool on Friday afternoon — as they said they do nearly every day. They joked they have forgotten how it is supposed to look.
“It’s been empty way too long. It’s ridiculous,” Darrel Bilbrey said. “It’s an eyesore. The whole Mall is torn up. … This is the showcase of the world. It should be much more representative of us being able to get work done fast instead of taking two years.”
The number of visitors to the pool has remained fairly constant the past two years, holding steady at about 6 million.
The project will add a large water-pumping and filtration system to the 7 million-gallon pool, hoping to improve what historically has been poor water quality. Before renovation, Johnson said 500,000 gallons of water evaporated and leaked into the ground each week.
When it reopens, pumps will filter water from the Tidal Basin and circulate it through the pool to avoid stagnation.
Workers have already completed one of the largest concrete pours in the United States, but Johnson said they continue to work on installing the pumping station and concrete walkways around the pool.
“There’s a lot that goes into it, in terms of getting electrical up and running,” Johnson said. “I think we’re pretty much on schedule, and we just have a few more things to do.”
