News & Updates

On October 1, Arlington National Cemetery's hours of operation will change to 8 am to 5 pm, Monday – Sunday. This schedule is in effect from October 1 to March 31.

Arlington Memorial Bridge will be closed on September 16, 2012 from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. for the Air Force Navy Half Marathon. Drivers will not be able to cross Memorial Bridge from Washington, D.C. to Arlington. Memorial Circle will remain open. Arlington National Cemetery is still accessible from Rt. 110, Rt. 27, and G.W.M. Parkway. Traffic on Memorial Circle will not be able to turn onto the bridge.

Memorial Drive between Porter and Farragut Drives will be closed for construction and re-paving from Sept. 1, 2012 to Nov. 1, 2012. Arlington National Cemetery is replacing and upgrading waterlines and storm drainage along Memorial Drive. In addition to repaving Memorial Drive, new curbs will be installed and the flagstone walkway replacement will continue in the area. There will be access to the Memorial Amphitheater and restrooms, the Tomb of the Unknowns, the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice, the Columbia and Challenger Memorials, and the Iran Rescue Memorial. Construction is planned to be complete by November 1, 2012. During construction, ANC Tours shuttle, Honor Flights, along with other groups, will pick-up and drop-off passengers near the Farragut and Wilson intersection. Disabled parking will be re-located to near the Mast of the USS Maine on the outbound side of Sigsbee Drive and Section 7A along Roosevelt Drive.

Arlington National Cemetery is working with a Seattle-based team of forensic and preservation experts and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Curation and Archives Analysis Branch, St. Louis District, to assess the condition and restore the historic stone columns that were once used for the Ord-Weitzel and Sheridan Gates. The gates were used as the cemetery’s entrances on its eastern boundary for near 100 years.

Minor upkeep is underway on the sculpture located in Arlington National Cemetery’s Visitors Center.

Arlington, Virginia - The Department of Defense 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee announced today its efforts to reach out to Korean War Veterans and their families across the country and encourage them to join a commemorative program celebrating the 59th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice. The program, titled Heroes Remembered, is open to the public and will take place on July 27, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. at the Arlington National Cemetery. The event will be streamed online starting at 8:30 a.m.,at http://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/2511.

Arlington National Cemetery has surveyed and marked future gravesite locations in Section 55 to accommodate in ground interment of caskets and urns. Section 55 along Eisenhower Drive has been designated to accommodate casketed remains. Survey crews measured the section and set blank headstones in unoccupied gravesites as guides to ensure the precise alignment of headstones. The guides will be removed as people are buried in these locations.

As a result of the severe weather on Friday, June 29, 2012, Arlington National Cemetery suffered storm damage comparable to Hurricane Irene. Arlington National Cemetery continues to assess the extent of the damage and has started on the restoration.

The Arlington County Police Department will close a number of roads around Arlington National Cemetery.

A construction project to improve access to Senator Edward M. Kennedy gravesite is under way at Arlington National Cemetery. The project will connect Senator Kennedy’s gravesite to the gravesites of Robert F. Kennedy and John F. Kennedy with a granite path. Visitors currently have to exit the stepped path from the RFK gravesite to visit Senator Kennedy’s gravesite. The new path will be constructed in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act accessible design standards.