WASHINGTON — The spotlight is bright on D.C.'s Tidal Basin with its iconic cherry blossom trees approaching peak bloom. While the National Park Service prepares for a tourism boost in the near future, they are also preparing for a massive repair project at the Basin that has been a long time coming. NPS announced a timeline for the project on Wednesday.
The three-year, $113 million rehabilitation of the seawalls around the Tidal Basin and along the Potomac River through West Potomac Park is funded by the Great American Outdoors Act Legacy Restoration Fund. The massive investment is meant to ensure the park is able to protect D.C.'s memorials, and the Japanese flowering cherry trees from the immediate threats of failing infrastructure and rising sea levels for the next 100 years.
Initial construction activity will begin in late spring and early summer 2024 and will focus on establishing a construction staging area in West Potomac Park and site preparation around the Tidal Basin, NPS officials said in a press release. Once the staging is complete, construction will occur in two phases, first around the Tidal Basin, followed by the Potomac River work in West Potomac Park.
Don't worry. Construction won't impact 2024's National Cherry Blossom Festival. The trail around the Tidal Basin will remain open through the duration of the work, although temporary pedestrian detours will be constructed in some areas.
Starting in May, preparations around the Tidal Basin will require the removal of about 140 cherry blossom trees between the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
Park service officials say in total, about 300 trees are scheduled from removal in construction zones. Once construction is complete, 455 trees, including 274 cherry blossom trees, will be replanted in the area.
Age, rising sea levels and poor drainage have taken a toll on the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park seawalls. Portions of the seawalls have settled as much as 5 feet since their initial construction from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. As a result of the settling and sea level rise, water flows over portions of the seawalls twice a day during normal tidal conditions. Despite various repairs over the decades, the seawalls are no longer structurally sound and threaten visitor safety and the historic setting, including the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin.
The repair of the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park seawalls is part of nearly $500 million in planned infrastructure improvements at the National Mall prior to the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026. The repairs will include:
- Removing and reconstructing the existing stone masonry seawalls to include a pile-supported platform foundation that will prevent the seawalls from settling, and support height extensions of the walls if needed due to future rising sea levels or increasing storm surge
- Salvaging and reusing stones from the historic wall in the rehabilitated seawalls, when possible
- Repairing, or replacing, and widening walkways around the Tidal Basin to provide smoother, more accessible connections to other pathways
- Regrading landscaping adjacent to the seawalls as necessary to provide proper drainage.
The seawall restoration is expected to be completed by 2027.
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