The National Mall reflecting pool, a landmark since 1922 and a site tied to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “I have a dream” speech, has been drained and fenced off for repairs. Contractors are upgrading the 2,000-foot pool, which has long suffered from leaks and algae blooms that have turned the water green and defeated prior repair efforts. The Trump administration awarded a no-bid contract to Atlantic Industrial Coatings to waterproof and repaint the pool before the 250th anniversary celebrations. The president cited prior work at his golf club and ordered the pool floor repainted American flag blue. Other companies criticized the lack of competition, while union monitoring raised concerns about worker safety and the contract’s cost being understated.
"Workers renovating one of Washington DC's most historically symbolic sites in a project ordered by Donald Trump may be risking their safety as they race to finish on time for the US's 250th anniversary celebrations, a union monitoring the site has warned."
"The pool, a Washington landmark since it was dug in 1922, is currently the site of frenetic repair activity, its usual watery surface occupied instead by vehicle and work equipment. Tourists visiting the area have found their view obscured by black tarpaulin."
"Last month, the Trump administration vowing to solve the problem once and for all awarded a no-bid contract to waterproof and repaint the pool to a Virginia-based company, Atlantic Industrial Coatings. The president told journalists the company had successfully carried out work on a swimming pool at his golf club in Sterling, Virginia."
"Other companies that do similar work have expressed indignation over being denied the chance to compete for the contract, according to Herbert Zaldivar, the business development director of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, who has visited the site as an observer. Now the award is threatening to boomerang amid disclosures that Trump drastically understated the contract's cost."
#national-mall #reflecting-pool-repairs #labor-union-safety #no-bid-government-contracts #us-250th-anniversary
Read at www.theguardian.com
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