‘Great Triumphal Arch’ excavation work to begin in coming weeks, Burgum says

Published September 3, 2026 5:04pm ET | Updated September 3, 2026 5:04pm ET



The Trump administration will begin preparing the Memorial Circle in front of the Arlington National Cemetery for President Donald Trump’s “Great Triumphal Arch” in the next two weeks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced Thursday.

“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 said in a statement.

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