A federal judge on Thursday denied a bid to halt work on a World War Two memorial that foes say will wreck the National Mall, a symbolic grassy oasis in the heart of the U.S. capital. Kennedy's Thursday ruling denying the request for a temporary restraining order by the National Coalition to Save Our Mall means sponsors, who say no actual digging or other physical preparation will start until July, now may start signing construction contracts. Our Mall head Judy Feldman told reporters after the decision. Our Mall lawyer Andrea Ferster said she would urge Kennedy to rule as soon as possible on the constitutionality of the congressional action to allow the group to appeal if necessary. Veterans groups, backed by influential spokesmen such as veteran and former Sen. Bob Dole and Hollywood film star Tom Hanks, say a memorial to the 16 million people who served in the war, and the 400,000 who died, is long overdue.
Supporters say the site is the only one prominent enough in the capital for the memorial.
But critics, who back a memorial in a side garden, counter that the design of linked columns around a central pool will obstruct both the view and the walk between existing monuments. The design by Austrian-born architect Friedrich St. Florian, which also includes bronze sculptures and a field of gold stars, has been scaled down and modified to sink it below ground. Sponsors say the memorial would no longer block the view under those plans. But Save the Mall says the modifications would expose the public to the danger of arsenic-contaminated ground water. Save Our Mall filed a suit in October against federal agencies that approved the memorial plans over a period longer than the war itself, saying they ducked public debate and violated environmental and other laws.