Project Highlight: Arlington National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery Presented By Capitol Flexi-Pave & Capitol Solutions Group

Project Year: 2012

Size: 20,000 sq. ft.

From 2009-2010 we performed the Tree Preservation work on the Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) “Potomac Interceptor” project. Their purpose on that project was to protect the historic trees while the 96” sanitary sewer main was installed through the middle of the cemetery. They did this by employing their techniques such as SuperSonic Air Tool (SSAT) excavations, Directional Root Pinning, Root Pruning, Tree Protection Fence, Root Protection Matting, Root Aeration Matting, etc.

While working they recognized a safety problem. The main road through the cemetery, Eisenhower Dr, had no sidewalks. So the hundreds of thousands of visitors each year walk down the street along with the cemetery staff, contractors, motorcades, etc. There was a the strong need to move the pedestrians and visitors off the roads and onto a sidewalk. However many trees lined the mile long stretch of Eisenhower Dr. So preserving these trees would be a priority if a new sidewalk were to be installed. They recommended the cemetery installed an eco friendly sidewalk instead of a standard concrete sidewalk. This was based on Flexi-Pave’s unique qualities as a tree preservation measure and stormwater mitigation tool. After a few months of vetting, they were asked for proposal to install ANC’s first porous pavement.

Upon receiving the award in 2011 they began the installation of the porous flexible pavement sidewalk for Arlington National Cemetery. The first 10,000 square feet of Flexi-Pave sidewalk was installed in 2011. The second 10,000 square feet of the sidewalk was completed in 2012. In total, the porous flexible sidewalk covers 20,000 square feet and extends approximately one mile. Arlington National Cemetery management chose Flexi-Pave in part due to their “Green Initiative”. This initiative included consideration for Stormwater Management, LEED, and use of sustainable materials. The Flexi-Pave sidewalk at the cemetery recycled over 7,000 recycled passenger tires in its construction.