Construction will soon begin on the so-called Arc de Trump monument in Washington, as US President Donald Trump moves to add his own permanent mark on the city's skyline.
"We are pleased to announce that after a very long wait (over 125 years), we are preparing to start, over the next two-week period, the excavation work necessary for the Great Triumphal Arch and Military Observation Deck, at Memorial Circle on Columbia Island between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said.
Mr Burgum said the monument "will be one of the Great Pieces of American Architecture".
The arch will act as a gateway to the US capital for those entering on the Arlington Memorial Bridge, near the Arlington National Cemetery.
"It's going to be really beautiful," Mr Trump said during a dinner at the White House in October, when the plans were unveiled.
The structure has been nicknamed the "Arc de Trump" in reference to the famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The artistic rendering shows a white arch rising high above street level with "one nation under God" written in gold at the apex. Perched on top of the monument stands a gilded, winged woman holding a torch, flanked by two eagles.
The plan for the monument is part of Mr Trump's drive to make the nation's capital "beautiful again". Projects have included major clean-up operations of long-neglected monuments, such as the Columbus Circle fountain at Union Station.
But some of his other projects have drawn concern and ridicule. His renovation of the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial cost several million dollars more than initially estimated, and the new lining of the structure began to peel almost immediately. Mr Trump blamed vandals for the problems with the pool.
