Army's 250th anniversary parade could cause $16 million in road damage

Trucks are delivering equipment for the Army's 250th Anniversary Military Parade

taking place June 14th next to the National Mall in D.C. The celebration will include 6,600 soldiers, 150 vehicles, 50 aircraft

a Golden Knight parachute demonstration, and fireworks. The Army estimates the parade will cost $45 million

one-third of which is being set aside for road repairs. D.C. city streets were not built to support this equipment, and it's expected to cause extraordinary damage

The Abrams tank weighs approximately 140,000 pounds, and its tracks are made of steel and rubber

The D.C. mayor's office isn't sure how and when the streets will be repaired

It told Straight Arrow News they know nothing more than what's been reported publicly

We work really hard to get our roads in the state of good repair and bridges in the state of good repair

And I think that there has been time and attention paid to how to move this heavy equipment in a way that doesn't hurt them

I remain concerned about it. So the parade ends right here on the corner of 15th Street and Constitution Avenue and if this has to be shut down for repairs for any period of time it going to cause some serious traffic headaches because this is a main artery to get people in and out of D to the west

This leads to George Washington Memorial Parkway and Interstate 66. So if this has to be shut down

it's going to create an absolute traffic nightmare for anyone to the west of D.C

The Army is taking precautions to keep the damage to a minimum. They're placing steel sheets in areas where tracked vehicles have to make tight turns

They're also putting new trackpads on tanks so the steel isn't directly touching the asphalt

Despite the logistical and infrastructural challenges, Mayor Bowser said she expects the parade to be..

Pretty spectacular. And there's going to be a parade aspect, but don't lose sight of the fact that a lot of people served in the Army

A lot of families, a lot of people are into aircraft and other equipment

The parade will take viewers through the history of the Army, from the Revolutionary War, both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and other conflicts

An estimated 200,000 people could attend. The public can register for tickets at Army250.org

I'm Ray Bogan for Straight Arrow News. For more reporting, download the SAN app