Arlington National Cemetery held a groundbreaking ceremony on September 14, 2021, to mark the beginning of construction on the cemetery’s Southern Expansion and the Federal Highways Administration Defense Access Road (DAR) construction projects. The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing the construction of the Southern Expansion Project and combined with the DAR project will enable the Army to continue the honored tradition of laying to rest our veterans well into the future.

Transcript

Today we marked the official start of the construction phase of this project. The journey to achieve this milestone has been long, complex and difficult. The groundwork for this project began last century with direction in the FY 2000 National Defense authorization Act To transfer the Navy addicts that used to stand where we are now to the army for use in the expansion of our international cemetery. This project is really two projects in one. The first is the defense access roads project under the direction and leadership of the Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division. The second is the southern expansion project under the protection of leadership of Arlington National Cemetery. With the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers being design and construction agent, there is something uniquely reverent in the privilege of being involved to support the A. N. C. Southern expansion as the lead for the door project honoring the service and sacrifice of the military members, veterans and their family members who are laid to rest here at Arlington National Cemetery and those who will have the opportunity to do so in the future. Thanks to the southern expansion and DAR projects is a noble and somber mission that we are proud to support as we break ground today. Please know that it has been and continues to be the Corps of Engineers, great pride and honor to support Arlington National Cemetery and Federal Highways Administration. Today we make history as we transition to implement our multifaceted plan to keep an Arlington National Cemetery and active military Cemetery For the next 150 years. The dark project will realign Columbia pike and shortened South Joyce Street providing new utility corridors under Columbia pike. Redesign the Columbia Pike in Virginia 27 interchange, remove Southgate Road and create a new section of South Nash Street provide a dedicated 10 ft wide bidirectional bike trail as well as eight ft sidewalks on both sides of Columbia pike. The defense access roads or DAR project and southern expansion projects were conceived and developed with one goal in mind to extend the service life of Arlington National Cemetery and allow it to continue to honor Our Nation’s veterans and families as it has for over 150 years. The southern expansion project will add approximately 50 acres to A. N. C. Including 37 new acres of contiguous burial space Provide over 80,000 new internment and interment opportunities with the construction of new column barium courts in ground cremated remains sections and in ground cascaded remain sections. It will seamlessly integrate the Air Force memorial with Arlington Cemetery. We look forward to the pending start of the DAR project and to the final A. N. C. Design which incorporates the Air Force memorial with the southern expansion in a matter that will seem that will seem as if it was always meant to be this way. Although every one of these items is important in its own right. They come together to fulfill the greater mission which is to maintain Arlington National Cemetery as an active cemetery, accepting our nation’s honor dead well into the future. Yeah.