WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The newly drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s has noticeably faded since it was lined with a protective coating in a color President Donald Trump called 鈥淎merican flag blue鈥� this spring.
An Associated Press reporter and photographer viewed the fenced-off Reflecting Pool on Wednesday from the top of the Washington Monument. The new liner appears grayer than when the pool was repainted and refilled with water in early June. Debris that had been visible earlier this week after the pool was drained is now largely gone, after work crews removed it.
罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 to revamp the landmark has stretched well past his initial goal of having the Reflecting Pool ready by July 4 for the nation鈥檚 250th birthday.
The president at first suggested his renovations would cost $1.5 million, but the bill ballooned to more than $16 million by June.
Trump had said the repairs would last a century, but within days of the project’s initial completion last month, the water was and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.
Ohio-based , also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool鈥檚 concrete floor.
Vandalism charges were levied against a former Olympic canoeist
Trump has repeatedly blamed , though critics allege it鈥檚 from shoddy repair work.
Trump has said, without citing evidence, that vandals made a 鈥�350-foot gash鈥� in the liner and caused other problems. No large slash marks were immediately visible Wednesday from the Washington Monument view. It was not possible to do a more up-close inspection of the entire pool due to a dark fence surrounding the perimeter.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency oversees the National Park Service, said that after the water is drained and debris is cleaned from Independence Day fireworks, the plan for the pool is straightforward: 鈥淩epair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.” He was speaking with conservative podcaster Katie Miller.
show that the the U.S. Park Police a June 9 incident in which a sharp knife or razor was said to have cut the pool鈥檚 new liner.
Former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn last week in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker.
His attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided the case as an abuse of prosecutorial power and maintain he is being scapegoated for the poor job done fixing up the Reflecting Pool.
At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the pool, court records show. All three pleaded not guilty during initial court appearances.
The work on the Reflecting Pool is just one of a number of projects Trump has spearheaded across the nation鈥檚 capital. Most prominently, he to build a $400 million ballroom and between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
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