WASHINGTON – To complete design of the first major construction project of the Department of Veterans' Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo, VA has awarded a $1.3 million contract for construction documents preparation to the small Birmingham firm Civil Consultants, Inc.
“Alabama veterans have been waiting a long time to have burial space available in such a national shrine within a reasonable distance of the Birmingham area,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “This next step brings us closer to turning those wishes into reality, and we are proud to make that happen.”
The design project, scheduled for completion this winter, will lead to developing 60 acres and providing an estimated 10 years of burial services.
The development will include approximately 4,000 pre-placed double-depth concrete crypt gravesites, 2,300 standard gravesites, a 2,700-niche columbarium for cremated remains, a public information center, an administration building, a maintenance complex, two committal service shelters and a public assembly area. The project also encompasses systems for irrigation, utilities, roads, signage, landscaping and site furnishings.
Veterans with a discharge other than dishonorable, their spouses, and dependent children are eligible for burial in a national cemetery. Other burial benefits for eligible veterans include a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate and a government headstone or marker – even if they are not buried in a national cemetery.
In the midst of the largest cemetery expansion since the Civil War, VA operates 125 national cemeteries in 39 states and Puerto Rico, 33 soldiers' lots and monument sites. More than 3.4 million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict — from the Revolutionary War to the Global War on Terror — are buried in VA’s national cemeteries.
Information on VA burial benefits can be obtained from national cemetery offices, from the Internet at http://www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 1-800-827-1000.
Information about the new national cemetery is available by calling the cemetery at (205) 665-9039 or toll-free at 1-866-547-5078.
