Several sections and the main entrance at the state-run veterans cemetery in North Little Rock will close temporarily during the final phase of an expansion.
Officials at the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs expect sections A, B, C, E and G of the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery at North Little Rock to be closed for three months -- possibly longer in the case of poor weather -- because of safety concerns involving the construction project.
Additionally, instead of the main entrance, visitors are asked to use a temporary entrance east of the main entrance on Maryland Avenue. The cemetery's address is 1501 W. Maryland Ave.
During the closures, cemetery employees will take care of placing flowers at grave sites that are in closed areas. Those flowers may be sent to the cemetery, according to an agency news release.
While those sections will be closed to typical grave access, agency officials said, cemetery workers will ensure that visitors can still spend time at their loved ones' graves.
"We recommend that anyone visiting the cemetery call prior to their visit, and we will arrange for one of our staff members to assist with the transportation to your loved one's grave," said Mada Stanley, the cemetery manager. "We are in the last stages of Phase I of our expansion grant for cemetery improvements."
The North Little Rock cemetery is one of two operated by the state for veterans -- the other is in Birdeye, a small, unincorporated town in northeast Arkansas. The federal VA manages three others in the state, but one is full.
The state secured more than $5.7 million from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs last year to expand the North Little Rock cemetery, and expansion construction -- which consists of two phases -- began in October. The first phase is nearing completion.
The federal grant will provide 2,000 more columbarium niches, 106 preplaced crypts, roadways, irrigation, landscaping, supporting infrastructure and honor guard and storage rooms.
Bill Wussick, the state VA's assistant director for veterans cemeteries, said rain has caused some delays, but the project is still expected to be completed by about April and within the allotted time frame.
Despite the construction, he said, burials will continue even if they are in the areas affected by the work.
"No burials are being postponed," he said.
Wussick also said the cemetery could soon more than double in size. The current defense spending bill making its way through Congress includes a provision that would transfer about 142 acres of land adjoining Camp Robinson to the cemetery. That bill is in conference as the House and Senate attempt to reconcile different versions of the bill that passed in each chamber.
If that provision remains unchanged, the cemetery in North Little Rock would expand to about 224 acres.
The North Little Rock cemetery opened in 2001. About half of its 82 acres are developed.
In 2017, the cemetery began seeing an uptick in burials, prompting the state VA to begin thinking about expansion sooner than expected. The agency determined that without expansion, the site would run out of certain types of graves by 2021.
Burial increases have been attributed to a variety of factors, including an aging population of veterans who served in mid-20th-century wars and a greater awareness of federal burial benefits.
The federal VA offers burial benefits to honorably discharged veterans. Included with the benefits are grave sites, interment, perpetual care, a government headstone, a burial flag and Presidential Memorial Certificate free of charge. Spouses and eligible dependents also may be buried with veterans but must pay a small fee in most cases.
Veterans apply for pre-eligibility for burial benefits through the state VA's website: veterans.arkansas.gov.
Metro on 08/28/2019