Alpha Corporation Serves as On-site Construction Manager on Recently Renovated Washington Monument

Alpha Corporation, a woman-owned engineering and construction consulting firm headquartered in Dulles, Va., was instrumental on the recently renovated Washington Monument. As the National Park Service’s construction manager, Alpha Corporation inspected the modernization of the elevator and the construction of a new visitor security screening facility.

“Incorporating modern structures with historic structures is always challenging, particularly on such a notable site like the Washington Monument, but it’s also what makes projects like this so rewarding because we know the Washington Monument is an important part of our capital and our country,” said Kathleen Linehan, president of Alpha Corporation of Dulles, Va. “When you’re renovating an historic site, it’s important to provide sensitive treatment during construction, like when we excavated for the new visitor screening facility, it had to be carefully constructed so as to avoid any impacts to the historic foundation of the Monument,” said Linehan.

Alpha Corporation’s work on the two-year Washington Monument project focused on upgrades of the mechanical and technological components of the elevator to provide increased reliability and service life; construction of a geothermal heating and cooling system for the new visitor screening facility; and construction of the new visitor screening center. Visitors will now view a video describing the history of the monument on the ride up. The environmentally sustainable geothermal system, also known as the ground source heat pump, is a highly efficient renewable energy technology rather than using more conventional energy sources. The new glass-covered security screening center enables an efficient screening process for visitors to move through the facility effectively. This new screening facility replaces the previous, temporary structure with an architectural entrance befitting the prominence of the Monument. It also allows visitors to be able to continue to have views of the Washington Monument, because visitors can look up through the glass roof and see straight up to the top, and they can also see views of the National Mall, Smithsonian Institution Museums and the Capitol Building.