(The Hill) – Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser is raising concerns that military tanks and armored vehicles set to roll down city streets next month for the Army’s 250th anniversary parade will tear up the roadways.
Bowser on Thursday warned that the city would be on the hook for expenses linked to repairing its streets after the June 14 event, with an unknown timetable for when the Pentagon might reimburse Washington.
“I remain concerned about it, I have to tell you,” she told reporters at a press conference. “These are, for the most part, local streets, and if they’re rendered unusable, we have to make them usable and then go seek our money from the feds.”
“That gives me some concern about fronting costs and waiting for them to get back,” she added.
The U.S. capital is poised to host a massive military parade to mark the Army milestone anniversary which also falls on President Trump’s birthday featuring thousands of service members and dozens of military vehicles on a route that will stretch for nearly four miles from the Pentagon to the White House, according to service officials.
Trump, who is set to speak during the event, has brushed aside concerns over the costs of the parade upwards of $45 million as “peanuts compared to the value of doing it.”
But city officials have raised fears that more than two dozen Abrams tanks, as well as numerous heavy armored vehicles, will damage city streets.
Bowser last month said tanks taking to Washington’s streets “would not be good” and “should be accompanied by many millions of dollars” for repairs.
The Army has sought to alleviate these concerns by insisting thick metal plates will be put down on parts of the route beforehand, and any damage will be covered by the service.
Military parades have been a sore subject between Trump and Bowser, who clashed over the same issue in 2018 during the president’s first term.
Trump, who had wanted to host a military parade after being inspired by France’s Bastille Day celebrations, ultimately canceled his first-term plans for a state-side event and blamed “local politicians” for an exorbitant price tag to make it happen.
“The local politicians who run Washington, D.C. (poorly) know a windfall when they see it,” he posted online at the time.
Also included in the parade will be historic aircraft and at least 50 helicopters flying through Washington’s skies, Army parachutists known as the Golden Knights and a fireworks display at dusk.
Bowser said she was advised by the National Transportation Safety Board that “there could be some disruption to the airspace at times,” due to the military aircraft, which could affect air travel for short periods of time.
