Report Finds 85 Reflecting Pool Failures in $14.7 Million Trump Coating Project
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 14
Report Finds 85 Reflecting Pool Failures in $14.7 Million Trump Coating Project
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Oct 14
Summary
A 75-page inspection report found 85 failure points and 88 additional damage instances in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s new blue coating, including buckling at eight of 10 expansion joints, nearly 40 blisters and almost two dozen peeling areas.
Photos and investigators’ findings said workers were still spraying coating on June 3, one day before refilling, even though the material needed 72 hours to cure and perimeter caulking needed five to seven days.
The report made no mention of vandalism, undercutting Trump’s repeated claims that arrests and a 250-foot gash explained the damage; prosecutors later dropped charges against former canoeist David Hearn after acknowledging contractor error.
Atlantic Industrial Coatings carried out the rushed no-bid project under a $14.7 million contract to resurface the 300,000-square-foot basin before July Fourth celebrations, but the pool soon turned green with algae and blue flakes surfaced.