THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY


Arlington National Cemetery bus parking lot closes for repair work

One month after the bus parking lot closed, the project progresses as concrete is poured in a portion of the upper deck on Nov. 20.

The first concrete was poured as part of the bus parking lot repair project on the morning of Nov. 6, 2009.

 

Oct. 13, 2009

ARLINGTON, Va. – The bus parking lot at Arlington National Cemetery’s Visitors Center will close on Monday, Oct. 19 for repair work to fix its deteriorating condition.

The repair work will be overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, and is scheduled to last several months due to the scope of the project, which will replace the asphalt in the bus parking lot with concrete.

"These much-needed repairs are a long-term solution to providing a safe and visitor-friendly environment for buses to park and bring people to Arlington National Cemetery,” said John C. Metzler, Jr., the cemetery’s superintendent. “We do apologize for any inconvenience this closure may cause for those visiting the cemetery by bus.”

Buses transporting visitors to the cemetery will be required to drop passengers off on Memorial Drive and return later for passenger pick up. There are no alternate parking arrangements for buses during this renovation project.

In the past 20 years since the construction of the parking deck in 1989, the weight of the buses has contributed to the deterioration on the top deck reserved for buses. Parking for privately-owned vehicles remains safe and will not be affected by the repair work.

 

The cemetery coordinated the timing of the project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, in order to allow enough time for the project to be complete by early spring of next year when the cemetery’s heavy visitation period begins.  More than 4 million people visit the cemetery each year.

 

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District is proud to serve Arlington National Cemetery with this major infrastructure repair project,” said Frank Cirincione, P.E. Chief, master planning section. “The team recognizes the importance of this national monument and will work diligently with the contractor to ensure that all precautions are in place so as not to inconvenience visitors.”

 

For more information on Arlington National Cemetery or for updates on the bus parking lot repair project, please visit www.arlingtoncemetery.org.

To download this news release in PDF format, please click here.