A prominent Democrat said Thursday that President Trump appears to be laying the groundwork for construction of his controversial arch just outside Washington. 

Rep. Don Beyer (D), who represents the Northern Virginia district where the arch would stand, said he visited the site Thursday morning after constituents informed him that construction vehicles had arrived on location.

Beyer said he spoke with construction workers operating “heavy equipment,” who told him they were “conducting archaeological work to evaluate the composition of the soil,” in Beyer’s words.

A federal judge earlier in the month had prohibited construction on the site without giving 14 days notice and barred “any activity” without at least 48 hours notice. The judge made an exception for work related to the search for underground artifacts, but Beyer said his visit on Thursday led him to believe more is being done than simple archeology. 

“When I asked [the workers] whether this work was a precursor to construction of the arch, they said that they could not answer,” Beyer said in a statement afterward. “The logical conclusion, however, is that the presence of this heavy equipment and additional surveyors is a clear indication that the Trump Administration is preparing to move forward with construction.”

The remarks came on the same day that the administration took steps to fast-track the approval of the arch by abruptly ending the consultations with local government historians that have traditionally accompanied such projects.

The General Services Administration (GSA) describes those consultations — required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 — as “an integral component” of the process.

“Under Section 106, each federal agency must consider public views and concerns about historic preservation issues when making final project decisions,” the GSA says. 

Instead, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), which is leading the impact review, said it will make its recommendations to the Interior Department without weighing the outside reviews. 

“Once the Secretary of the Interior considers and responds to the ACHP’s comments, the Section 106 review for this undertaking will be concluded,” the group said Thursday in a statement.

The announcement came after officials in both Virginia and Washington, D.C., sent letters to the National Park Service declining approval of the arch plan without further examination of its impact on historic sites in the vicinity, including Arlington National Cemetery. 

Beyer, who has been leading the charge against the arch, said it would be “deeply troubling” if the administration began construction without a fuller assessment of the effects on the region. 

“Trump’s arch is illegal and immoral, and the Administration is also under court order requiring 48 hours’ notice before work proceeds,” he said. “Yet, the Administration appears to be pushing ahead with activity at the site even while it still has not done the basic work necessary to understand the consequences of this project.”

Trump proposed the 250-foot arch on the Virginia side of Memorial Bridge as part of his rolling commemoration of America’s 250th birthday. Stirring the controversy, Trump announced earlier in the week that the arch would not merely be ceremonial but would also house snipers, drones and ammunition. 

“There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World,” he posted Sunday on Truth Social.