County seeks cash for land to expand Arlington cemetery

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A trial underway in federal court will decide whether the U.S. government must pay up to $21 million to compensate a Virginia county for land taken to expand Arlington National Cemetery. The expansion project has already begun and is expected to extend the cemetery’s ability to accommodate new burials by 19 years, until 2060. At issue is how much money, if any, the federal government must pay to Arlington County for land it took for the expansion. The federal government says it’s fulfilling its duties by replacing and improving the road network on the cemetery’s southern border. The county says it should also be compensated for a parcel that could be developed into housing if it were rezoned.