The contractor responsible for the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool admitted to errors in their work and flaws in the repair plan. This acknowledgment comes after initial claims that vandalism was to blame for the damage. The pool’s new blue liner began to peel and tear due to “human oversight” and the use of incompatible chemicals, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.
The Trump administration had blamed vandals, suggesting they used knives or box cutters to damage the liner. However, charges against individuals accused of such vandalism were dropped by the Justice Department. The contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, identified the problems in both design and execution during a report on August 14 and detailed further findings on September 2.
Documents reveal Atlantic reported that the repair plan, included in the contract, mistakenly called for incompatible chemicals in the liner layers. Additionally, due to “human oversight,” some areas received insufficient primer, affecting adhesion between layers.
These findings were shared through government documents, including Atlantic’s reports and daily progress updates from the National Park Service over two months. As a result of these admissions, the Justice Department moved to dismiss vandalism charges by July 31.
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