CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A yearlong renovation of the West Virginia Veterans Memorial at the state Capitol Complex is expected to be completed in June.
Since the $1.6 million project started last spring, access to the memorial has been restricted at times while workers made several repairs. Fencing was removed last month, and the communications director for the Department of Administration, Diane Holley-Brown, said that any remaining work won’t stop the memorial from being open on Monday for Memorial Day.
“What’s left isn’t going to prevent any activity at the memorial,” said Holley-Brown. The Department of Administration has overseen contracting for the renovation.
The renovation project, which is being paid for with money from the state’s Capitol improvement fund, includes installation of a new water system, handrails, lights and paving stones.
An architectural and engineering review conducted in 2013 found electrical and drainage issues, cracked paving stones and failing joints.
Although the project is expected to be finished by next month, Holley-Brown said while she doesn’t see the project getting extended, something always could change.
The Charleston Daily Mail reports (https://bit.ly/1HmhclP) the 20-year-old oval monument at the Capitol Complex was designed by West Virginia sculptor Joseph Mullins. Costing $4 million, the memorial has four limestone monoliths surrounded by a reflecting pool. Black granite covering the inside walls is etched with the names of more than 10,000 West Virginians who died in 20th Century wars.
The memorial also features sculptures representing the four major 20th-Century conflicts, as well as the four major branches of the U.S. military.
According to U.S. Department of Defense numbers, more than 450,000 West Virginians served in World Wars I and II and the Korean, Vietnam and Gulf wars.
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Information from: Charleston Daily Mail, https://www.charlestondailymail.com
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