Aerial photos show different stages of the renovation work on the Reflecting Pool after U.S. President Donald Trump said the second round of renovations at the Lincoln Memorial site in Washington, D.C., was complete. The Reflecting Pool is totally complete, and we changed the old pipes,” Trump told reporters.
But the pool has not been filled as of Thursday morning, Newsweek's Leonardo Feldmen reported from the scene. Workers were still completing tasks on Wednesday, according to The Washington Post, seen spraying material on sections of the pool’s interior while grates for its center drain were not yet in place. Newsweek contacted the White House and the U.S.
Department of the Interior, via email, for comment. Photos from the Washington Monument webcam overlooking the Memorial Reflecting Pool show water still visible on July 11, before the pool was drained for the second time. Crews began draining 4 million gallons of water in July, after major controversy over the $14 million no-bid contract, including severe algae outbreaks, peeling underwater coating and allegations of vandalism.
The project had been declared complete in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary, but these issues developed within days. The Trump administration blamed political opponents and vandals for the project's rapid deterioration, but critics have questioned whether the claims were being used to mask systemic construction defects. Newsweek has broken down a timeline of the project, in detail, here.
Pictures from July 14 show the pool without any water in it, exposing its basin and visible surface patterns. Images from Wednesday, a day after Trump said the work was complete, show the pool still drained but with changes in the surface visible. Close-up photos taken by Newsweek show the exposed basin with construction equipment scattered across the surface.
In June, the Trump administration alleged vandalism, saying law enforcement had found “deliberate slashes cut through the liner, sides, and coating, as well as fencing and debris thrown into the pool.” Olympic canoeist David Hearn was one of several people arrested before he was later indicted for felony destruction of property, but federal prosecutors dropped the criminal case after concluding that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by flawed installation rather than vandalism. Last week, Judge Todd Edelman permanently dismissed the criminal case against Hearn, saying: "Within a month, the government recognized that its prosecution lacked merit. It reached this conclusion not because it had misidentified Mr.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
