The National Park Service in late May will start removing about 140 cherry trees between the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial to prepare for a three-year, $113 million seawall repair project around DC’s Tidal Basin.
“Age, rising sea levels, and poor drainage have taken a toll on the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park seawalls,” the park service said in a news release.
Parts of the seawalls have settled as much as 5 feet since the late 1800s and early 1900s, making them no longer structurally sound, the park service said. The deterioration threatens visitor safety.
The work will be done in two stages. First, the rehabilitation will be done at the Tidal Basin, then at West Potomac Park. About 6,800 linear feet of seawall will be rehabilitated. That, the park service said, is expected to extend the seawall’s life by about 100 years.
The Tidal Basin will remain open while the work is done, but there will be detours in some areas.
The work, part of a larger $500 million infrastructure plan, includes reconstructing the existing stone masonry seawalls and salvaging and reusing stones from them. Sidewalks around the Tidal Basin will be repaired, replaced, and widened, and landscaping to provide proper drainage will be done.
The park service said efforts were made to minimize how many cherry trees need to be removed. “In all, approximately 300 trees are scheduled for removal in the construction zones. When the project is completed, 455 trees (including 274 cherry trees) will be replanted in the area,” the park service said.
The restoration project is expected to be completed in 2027.
Feature image and rendering courtesy National Park Service
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