根据内政部发布的规划文件，为了在唐纳德·特朗普离任时完成他的“凯旋门”，国家公园管理局计划在未来两到三年内每天施工20小时。
国家公园管理局上周发布了与计划中的拱门相关的设计、效果图和报告，以征求公众对华盛顿地平线上有争议的建筑的意见。
因为这座拱门是为了庆祝美国独立250周年。...较小的高度不被认为是这一里程碑的代表，不像承诺中提出的250英尺的拱门，”其中一份报告谈到该项目的规模。
该项目正在联邦法院受到挑战，尽管挑战拱门的诉讼以及特朗普的白宫宴会厅、计划中的高尔夫球场翻新以及林肯纪念堂倒影池的重新粉刷和密封等其他项目迄今为止都没有成功停止工作。
目前的设计要求巨大的拱门由混凝土建造，并覆盖美国采购的花岗岩，这与一些由大理石或石灰石建造的旧华盛顿纪念碑不同。根据规划文件，建筑工人将需要多台高达320英尺的起重机，比美国国会大厦大楼还要高，还需要其他重型建筑设备，包括混凝土泵、叉车、滑移转向装置和其他工具。
根据规划文件，因为这座纪念碑将位于华盛顿特区罗纳德·里根·华盛顿国家机场(Ronald Reagan Schmidt)复杂的飞行路线附近，建筑师将“航空所需的安全照明”纳入了拱门的设计，使用“现有的侵入性最小的技术”来最大限度地减少光污染。
美国联邦航空局最近完成了一项关于拱门的可行性研究，并得出结论认为，它将对机场“空域和视觉/仪表程序没有明显的不利影响”，并且它只需要红色障碍灯。
“职业安全专家没有发现对DCA运营的不利影响。美国联邦航空局发言人在一份声明中说:“他们的审查确定，唯一的要求是建筑物的顶部需要用红色障碍灯照明，这是一种常见的安全工具。”他补充说，接下来将与国家公园管理局进行全面的航空研究。
根据这些文件，该项目将在两到三年的时间内分七个阶段建设。在工人挖掘现场后，施工将涉及约五个月的“连续重型设备作业”，以将基础系统向下推进约75英尺至基岩。NPS报告估计，移除地基材料将需要大约30辆卡车，在几个月内每天运送100吨土壤。
一旦基础完成，工人们计划花大约10个月的时间建造拱门的主要混凝土结构，然后将花岗岩板固定在混凝土上。
NPS的一份报告称:“工程将全年进行，在施工期间，每天分两班工作10小时(全年每天20小时)。”
大约在同一时间，建筑工人将开始组装拱门的内部结构，包括楼梯、电梯、屋顶、管道和电气工程。经过大约两年的工作，计划要求使用300英尺的移动式起重机在拱门顶部安装一座黄金雕像。
国家公园管理局表示，施工可能会导致阿灵顿纪念桥周围的交通严重中断。
拱门的设计还没有得到国家首都计划委员会的批准。在上周的一次听证会上，该委员会要求特朗普政府解决他们设计的一系列问题，尽管特朗普谎称该设计已获批准。
今年早些时候，一群越战老兵也对这座拱门提起诉讼，并要求联邦法官阻止建造，认为这座拱门应该得到国会的批准。
他们在最近的一份法庭文件中写道，“随着每一天的过去，被告的拱门离建筑越来越近。”
特朗普政府辩称，一项与附近的阿灵顿纪念桥建筑有关的100年前的法规授权建造这座拱门。司法部的律师也认为原告缺乏起诉权，诉讼为时过早。
“在NPS结束其决策过程之前，强制披露这种内部审议将对行政部门造成‘严重破坏’，”DOJ律师在一份法庭文件中写道。
Trump's arch construction to run 20 hours a day for 2 to 3 years, documents show
To complete Donald Trump's "Triumphal Arch" by the time he leaves office, the National Park Service plans to have construction take place 20 hours per day over the next two to three years, according toplanning documentsreleased by the Department of the Interior.
The National Park Servicelast week releaseddesigns, renderings and reports related to the planned arch as it seeks public comment about the controversial addition to the D.C. skyline.
"Because the Arch is intended to celebrate 250 years of American independenc. ... smaller heights were not considered representative of this milestone, unlike the 250-foot Arch proposed in the undertaking," one of the reports said about the size of the project.
The project is being challenged in federal court, though lawsuits challenging the arch, and other projects likeTrump's White House Ballroom,planned golf course renovations and the repainting and sealing of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have so far been unsuccessful in stopping work.
Current designs call for the massive arch to be constructed out of concrete and clad with U.S.-sourced granite -- a departure from some of the older D.C. monuments which are constructed from marble or limestone.According to planning documents, construction workers will require multiple cranes up to 320-feet tall -- taller than the U.S. Capitol building -- and other heavy construction equipment, including concrete pumps, forklifts, skid steers and other tools.
Because the monument will sit near the complicated flight paths for D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), architects included "aviation required safety lighting" into the design of the arch, using the "least intrusive technology available" to minimize light pollution, according to planning documents.
The FAA recently completed a feasibility study about the arch and concluded it would have"no significant adverse effect on airspace and visual/instrument procedures" for the airport and that it would only require red obstruction lights.
"Career safety experts found noadverse impacts to operations at DCA. Their review determined the only requirement would be the top of the structure would need to be lit with red obstruction lights -- a common safety tool," an FAA spokesperson said in a statement, adding that it will next conduct a full aeronautical study with the National Park Service.
According to the documents, the project will include seven phases of construction over a two-to-three-year period. After workers excavate the site, construction would involve about five months of "continuous heavy equipment operations" to drive the foundation system down about 75 feet to bedrock. The NPS report estimated that removing material for the foundation would require about 30 trucks to move 100 loads of soil per day for months.
Once the foundation is completed, workers plan to spend about 10 months constructing the primary concrete structure of the arch and then affix granite panels to the concrete.
"Work would occur year-round, with work occurring in two 10-hour shifts per day (20 hours per day, year-round) for the duration of the construction period," a NPS report said.
Around the same timeframe, construction workers will begin to assemble the inner structure of the arch, including stairs, elevators, roofing, plumbing, and electrical work. After about two years of work, plans call for a 300-foot mobile crane to be used to install a gold statue atop the arch.
The National Park Service said the construction would likely result in significant traffic disruptions around the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
The design for the arch has not yet been approved by the National Capital Planning Commission. During a hearing last week, the commission asked the Trump administration to address a series of issues with their design, though Trump falsely claimed the design had been approved.
A group of Vietnam veterans also sued over the arch earlier this year and are asking a federal judge to block the construction, arguing the arch should be approved by Congress.
"With every passing day, Defendants' arch moves closer to construction," they wrote in a recent court filing.
The Trump administration has argued that a 100-year-old statute related to the building of the nearby Arlington Memorial Bridge authorizes construction of the arch. Department of Justice lawyers have also argued that the plaintiffs lack standing and that the lawsuit is premature.
"Forcing such disclosures of internal deliberations -- before NPS has concluded its decision-making process -- would 'wreak havoc' on the Executive Branch," DOJ lawyers wrote in a court filing.
