Tidal Basin construction to begin after Cherry Blossom Festival, National Park Service says
WASHINGTON - The National Park Service estimates we’re 11 days away from peak bloom for the cherry blossoms down at the Tidal Basin.
It’s one of D.C.’s biggest draws but over the years, the basin itself has deteriorated and many have noticed that it’s in need of a facelift.
"I kind of feel it needs reconstruction. As you can see it’s not leveled properly. When you’re a runner, you need a level playing field to run on. It’s a little rocky sometimes. I think it’s about time for a renovation," Maryland resident Michael Kweme said.
So, after the Cherry Blossoms Festival comes and goes, the real work on the basin begins.
For starters, during peak bloom especially, the sidewalks aren’t wide enough. That causes people to walk on the grass, which is bad for the trees themselves, the Park service replaces 80 to 90 of them every year.
The sidewalks themselves also are not in the best condition, and in some parts of the basin, they can be prone to flooding.
FOX 5 spoke with visitors today who know it’s time for some improvements.
"It’s not so bad on this side but on the other side, it comes over all the time by the path of the Jefferson Memorial and the trees, their feet are getting wet. They don’t like it," Maryland resident Sabine Carlson said.
After trying to get money for decades to make these fixes, the National Park Service now has $112 million and the three-year project will start within the next couple of months.
The seawalls have been sinking, so 6,800 feet of seawalls will be fixed and raised, sidewalks widened to help cure what ails the tidal basin right now. The Park Service walked us through some of the proposed fixes.
"We’re going to anchor the seawalls to bedrock. They were not sunk to bedrock when they were built and that’s why they’ve been settling over these years. We’re going to raise the sea walls so the water in the Tidal Basin stays where it’s supposed to make it sustainable, taking into account rising sea level for the future," said Mike Litterst with the National Park Service. "[It] should be good for the next 100 years or more."
As for the timeline and impact on future years, NPS expects to have more information about that sooner rather than later.
FOX 5 will stay ahead of those developments as we get closer to this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival.