President Donald Trump’s latest building project, dubbed the “Arc de Trump,” is raising alarm over potential flight hazards, according to CNN.
The 79-year-old president plans to construct a massive golden arch modeled after Paris’s Arc de Triomphe, overlooking the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia. The site would sit amid historic landmarks, including Arlington National Cemetery and the National Mall, just across the river in D.C.
Trump has described the arch as a “gate” to Washington, D.C., claiming it will be the “biggest one of all” in the world. He has said it would be 250 feet tall to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary, the equivalent of a 16- to 20-story building.
But the proposed location lies directly beneath the flight path for planes approaching nearby Reagan National Airport from the north, sparking safety concerns.
A CNN review of the final approach shows aircraft would pass the arch at an alarmingly low altitude of just 492 feet, leaving minimal margin for error in one of the nation’s busiest and most tightly constrained airspace corridors.
That is because aircraft cannot fly over Washington’s National Mall or the Pentagon due to strict flight restrictions, forcing planes to follow the Potomac River at relatively low altitudes.
These routes have come under heightened scrutiny since the January 2025 accident in which a Black Hawk helicopter, exceeding its 200-foot ceiling at 278 feet, collided with a commercial American Airlines jet. The crash claimed 67 lives, becoming one of the deadliest U.S. aviation disasters in recent memory.
The CNN review also showed that the airspace within three miles of Reagan National Airport is already crowded with obstacles, including cranes up to 336 feet and buildings exceeding 320 feet, with hundreds of structures evaluated by the FAA over the past year.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and the Federal Aviation Administration for comment.
Trump has suggested constructing the arch in Memorial Circle at the end of Arlington Memorial Bridge in Virginia, a site already congested with vehicle traffic. Adding the structure would significantly alter the flow and layout of the busy traffic circle.
Meanwhile, architectural experts have raised concerns about the sheer size of Trump’s proposed arch, warning that it could overshadow nearby memorials and alter the experience of the area. For context, the Lincoln Memorial across from the Memorial Bridge stands 99 feet tall.
“I would be very concerned about the scale,” Calder Loth, a retired senior architectural historian with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, told the Washington Post.
He added that the arch could obstruct views of Arlington National Cemetery for visitors walking from the National Mall.
“It would make Arlington House look like a dollhouse—or block it entirely—or you couldn’t see it all, with the arch blocking the view,” he continued.
But it is uncertain whether the plan will go ahead.
The proposal would likely trigger multiple review processes that include public comment because of its environmental and historic impact, and lawsuits are likely, which could slow or stall construction.
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