140K-Lb. Tanks For Army Parade On Trump’s Birthday Expected To Do $16M In Damage To D.C. Roads

On June 14, thousands of troops, 28 tanks and 100 other vehicles are expected to make their way down Washington, D.C.’s Constitution Avenue for the Army’s 250th anniversary parade. The parade will occur on the same day as President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday.

Constitution Avenue, as well as other roads in D.C., have a maximum weight of 80,000 pounds. However, the tanks weigh around 140,000 pounds each, and while the Army has installed steel plates along parts of the road to alleviate some of the weight, permits allowing overweight vehicles have not yet been filed.

The tanks have already started to arrive by train. Trump said that the cost of the celebrations is a budget of $45 million. The President said that the expense of the parade is reasonable for celebrating “the greatest military in the world.”

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has expressed her concern for potential damage to the roads. She has also stated that most of the roads on which the parade will be conducted are local streets.

NBC Washington has estimated that road damage could cost around $16 million. Bowser has stated that if any streets are damaged, the city would seek financial compensation from the federal government.

Democratic congressmen have objected to the politicization of the military by Trump. Sen. Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), who serves on the Armed Services Committee, has claimed that the parade is an attempt for the President to garner attention for himself.

In Trump’s first term, the president rescinded his plans to hold a military parade in D.C. following backlash over the costs and damage vehicles such as tanks could cause.

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Article by Sherry Chen

Sherry Chen is a uPolitics writer.