An additional 27,282 burial sites will be added to the Arlington National Cemetery with plans to expand the Cemetery to the North and the South. The project, called the Millennium Project, is expected to complete by 2016. $8.1 million will be spent expanding the Cemetery to the North and $300 million will be spent expanding it to the South. According to the U.S. Army website, funding for the southward expansion has not yet been identified. For the 2016 fiscal year, the Army budget was increased from $45.8 million to $70.8 million. If a furlough or funding emergency occurs, this could cause the Arlington National Cemetery to potentially close down operations.
The Northward expansion will extend the Cemetery by 27 acres, and the Southward expansion will extend to the area formerly occupied by the now-demolished Navy Annex. An ossuary called the Tomb of Remembrance is also being planned for housing cremated remains. Currently, the Cemetery is undergoing renovations to the visitor's restrooms, office spaces, waterlines, roads, and storm-water drainage, as reported by the U.S. Military website. A new funeral procession queuing area is also in the works.
· Over 27,000 burial sites to open at Arlington next year [U.S. Army]