Work on MLK Memorial Set for Spring

January 10, 2008 - 7:58am

WASHINGTON (AP) - Construction is slated to begin this spring on the long-planned Martin Luther King Memorial on the National Mall, more than a year after a ceremonial groundbreaking.

After a slow fundraising start, organizers have collected about $87 million of the $100 million budget and are anticipating some major financial announcements next month.

As long as work starts by April or May as planned, officials say the project would still be on schedule for a 2009 opening. The foundation is now waiting for final permits from the National Park Service.

The memorial will sit on four acres along the edge of the Tidal Basin, between the Jefferson Memorial and Lincoln Memorial, where the civil rights pioneer delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. It will feature stone carvings, a raised walkway and stone walls engraved with King's quotes.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Construction is slated to begin this spring on the long-planned Martin Luther King Memorial on the National Mall, more than a year after a ceremonial groundbreaking.

After a slow fundraising start, organizers have collected about $87 million of the $100 million budget and are anticipating some major financial announcements next month.

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