Report: Trump's planned arch will alter sightlines among Washington DC landmarks

The US National Park Service released a 133-page report on Friday supporting Donald Trump's proposed 250ft (76-meter) memorial arch, despite acknowledging the project's adverse effects on the sightlines of numerous historic sites across Washington DC.

The arch is planned for a site near the Arlington Memorial Bridge, in an area known as Memorial Circle. The report states the structure will disturb symbolic visual and spatial relationships among dozens of historic properties, including the Washington Monument, the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, the National Mall, the US Capitol, the Georgetown Historic District and others.

One of the most significant impacts cited is the disruption of the alignment between the Lincoln Memorial, the Memorial Bridge and Arlington House — the former home of Confederate general Robert E Lee. That alignment, the report notes, was designed to symbolically and physically unite North and South through a coordinated monumental composition spanning the Potomac River.

Despite these acknowledged effects, the report concludes that the very characteristics making Memorial Circle sensitive from a preservation standpoint are also what make it the historically appropriate site for the project. It states that alternative locations outside Memorial Circle would not meet the project's stated purpose and are therefore not considered reasonable options.

The report could serve as an important piece of evidence for the administration in an ongoing legal battle brought by three veterans and a group of historians challenging the project. The arch already received preliminary approval from a key federal commission last month.

Nicolas Sansone, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group representing the plaintiffs, said the report confirms what challengers have argued all along — that the project will have an enormous impact and will transform the National Mall. He added that a decision of this scale and significance should rest with Congress rather than be pushed through by executive action.