Arlington National Cemetery: Aging Infrastructure to Blame for Sinkhole

A sinkhole in one of the oldest sections of Arlington National Cemetery should be fully repaired by mid-August.

The sinkhole was discovered the morning of May 30, cemetery spokeswoman Jennifer Lynch told Patch. It's 4 to 5 feet in diameter and 5 to 6 feet deep.

No graves, headstones or trees were damaged, Lynch said. The sinkhole was caused by an old culvert that failed under Ord & Weitzel Drive. Culverts are pipes that allow water to flow under roads.

"The cemetery is 149 years old," Lynch said. "It's just old infrastructure. We're in the process of replacing water pipes and other kinds of routine maintenance."

Arlington has a backlog of maintenance work that the cemetery is working on, she said. In the past few years, a couple of water main breaks have occurred (and been replaced) but this is the first time a culvert has collapsed, Lynch said.

The sinkhole is near the Ord & Weitzel Gate in Rosslyn, a gate that's generally only open to pedestrians. It's south of Iwo Jima and not far from the cemetery's Section 27 and the old deputy superintendent's lodge.

Section 27 is home to the remains of Pvt. William Henry Christman, the first military person buried at the cemetery. Civilians are buried there, and free slaves were laid to rest not far away.

Repair work is expected to begin this week, Lynch said. Signs and small barricades are in place to keep people from getting too close.

The pedestrian path is still walkable, but the affected portion of Ord & Weitzel Drive — which mostly forms a loop in the cemetery's northeastern-most corner — is currently not passable for vehicles.

"We are working diligently to complete the backlog of repairs to our aging infrastructure," Lynch said in a follow-up email.

"We've replaced 230,000 square feet of the flagstone walkway at the Memorial Amphitheater. We've replaced the Heat, Ventilation and Air Conditioning units in the Welcome Center and Administration Building. We are in the process of replacing the oldest water lines in the cemetery."

This story was originally published at 12:33 p.m. Tuesday. It has been updated to include more information on the cemetery's maintenance.