County seeks cash for land to expand Arlington National Cemetery (The Federal Times)

County seeks cash for land to expand Arlington National Cemetery – By Matthew Barakat (AP) / Apr 10 2023

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A trial underway in federal court will decide whether the U.S. government must pay up to $21 million to compensate a Virginia county for a parcel of land taken to expand Arlington National Cemetery.

The cemetery expansion project is expected to add 50,000 to 60,000 burial spaces and extend its ability to accommodate new burials by 19 years — until 2060, under the current eligibility requirements. Work on the expansion has already begun and will not be halted no matter what the judge decides at the trial’s conclusion.

At issue is how much money, if any, the federal government must pay to Arlington County for the nine acres (3.6 hectares) of land it took from the county to accommodate the expansion.

The federal government says it’s fulfilling its duties by replacing and improving the road network on the cemetery’s southern border, including significant improvements to a highway, Columbia Pike, that serves as a primary commuter route.

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