![]() ![]() “Anybody who’s been around the Tidal Basin in cherry blossom season knows how badly we could use wider sidewalks,” Litterst said.īesides the sea wall, grading will be bolstered nearby to keep cherry trees surrounding the basin healthy. The taller sea walls will also be widened around the Tidal Basin from 8 to 12 feet to provide more accessibility. “ as much as 3 feet lower now than when they were built.”Īlso, “we have been seeing sea level rise up to a foot,” Litterst said. “When the sea walls were initially built at the Tidal Basin, they weren’t sunk to bedrock, so they have been settling over the years,” Litterst said. In addition, the sea wall will be rebuilt with a pile-supported platform foundation that will prevent the sea wall from settling and support height extensions of the wall, if needed, due to future rising sea levels or increasing storm surge elevations. To deal with the problem, Litterst said the sea wall height will be increased 4.75 feet at the Tidal Basin and 5.50 feet along West Potomac Park to account for wind and wave conditions along the Potomac River. The flooding is damaging the cherry trees and other flora, Litterst said. “There are places around the Tidal Basin, twice a day at high tide, the water from the Tidal Basin actually overflows the sea wall.” “The sea walls around the National Mall are failing,” said Mike Litterst, spokesman with the National Park Service. However, the sea walls and walkways are often under water. The sea walls - some built of dry, stacked stone, others created with concrete - are built to keep water from the basin and river from eroding the shoreline and walkways. The National Park Service plans to rehabilitate and heighten nearly 7,000 feet of sea wall that lines the Tidal Basin and West Potomac Park in an effort to deal with daily flooding.
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