ARLINGTON, Va. — Kokosing Construction’s senior area manager Steven Marincic said he revered the experience of working on a national landmark.
“Honestly, it feels surreal every morning when we hear the cannons fire and see the horses pulling the cassion,” the Pennsylvania native said. “We are in direct view of the Pentagon. Every afternoon, the shadows of the Air Force Memorial spires move across the site.
“Every minute of every day, we are impacted by our location.”
Marincic and members of Kokosing’s Mid-Atlantic region, based in Maryland, are completing roadway and expansion work on Arlington National Cemetery.
William Burgett founded Kokosing Construction Company in Fredericktown in the 1950s. It has since grown to a national company with 19 regional offices.
Kokosing team lays groundwork for 80,000 additional gravesites
The project consists of the realignment of Columbia Pike and South Joyce Street, and the elimination of Southgate Road. South Nash Street will be constructed in Southgate’s place.
The project also features the expansion of Foxcroft Heights Park and the modification of the Columbia Pike/Washington Boulevard interchange from a cloverleaf to a tight diamond.
These realignments and space-saving reconfigurations lay the groundwork for an additional 80,000 gravesites for the cemetery to expand its lifetime.
The team started work for the Arlington National Cemetery Defense Access Roads (DAR) Project in November 2021.
The Kokosing team was responsible for the south parcel preparation, which is the first step in expanding the cemetery’s space by about 50 acres.
“The close proximity to the Pentagon and other national monuments created some challenges and immense utility impacts,” a statement from the Kokosing team stated.
“Before construction in the south parcel could begin, numerous utilities, including seven fiber optic lines, waterline and electrical line, had to be relocated.”
The Kokosing team constructed two top-down soldier pile lagging walls. These walls consisted of 282 shafts of 48-inch casings, large steel beams and 12-inch thick concrete lagging.
The third wall is called a “king pile wall,” consisting of 41 wall shafts with 66-inch casing. Twelve of the wall shafts are double-cased and all shafts contain a double steel beam.
The Kokosing team created a custom-made template for the king pile wall long before construction work began.
Marincic said up to 150 Kokosing employees were at the site to meet an interim deadline of April 18, 2023 on the south parcel.
Kokosing ‘honored to serve the veterans of our great nation’
The south parcel project laid the groundwork for the new Arlington National Cemetery maintenance facility, which was recently awarded to a Phase Two contractor.
The team will also construct pedestrian and bicycle access, as well as preserve multimodal access to the Air Force Memorial.
The newly constructed Nash Street will also host a cast-in-place tunnel for Arlington National Cemetery employees to access the operations complex.
The roads project has an estimated completion date of June 2025. The team still must complete the cast-in-place tunnel, four retaining wall systems, another major excavation scope and continued extensive utility installation.
“Not only has Kokosing enjoyed making strides in the new region of work, but we are also completely humbled and honored to serve the veterans of our great nation in this manner,” the Kokosing statement said.
The Arlington National Cemetery Historic District includes the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington House, Memorial Drive, the Women in Military Service for America Memorial and Arlington Memorial Bridge.
The first military burial on the grounds occurred May 13, 1864.
Today, approximately 400,000 veterans and eligible dependents are buried at the cemetery. The site is more than 600 acres.
Marincic said the Kokosing team does not take this opportunity for granted.
“It allows us to serve those who give their lives to serve us,” he said. “It is a completely humbling honor to be able to assist the Army in such an important mission.”