3.6M feet trample on National Mall for inauguration

WASHINGTON - After 1.8 million people - or 3.6 million feet - trampled on the National Mall for the inauguration of President Obama, the grounds are going to need a good dose of TLC.

"It's reasonable to anybody that that number of people and that number of feet is going to have an effect," National Park Service spokesman Bill Line says.

"We will make an assessment over the next week to 10 days to see what damage there is that's resulting from the inauguration."

The initial assessment looks good as far as buildings and monuments; no major damage has been reported.

Officials are also pointing out that crowds remained calm, and there were no arrests made in or around the Mall during the inauguration.

A bond has been set aside for the National Park Service to refurbish the National Mall. The National Park Service will determine how much it will take from the bond once it assesses the condition of the Mall.

Once the turf itself is inspected, officials say it's likely some portions of the Mall will be sectioned off for months.

"The point will be to fence it off with snow fencing for three, four, five months, to allow that turf to regenerate, to regrow, to water it, to reseed it and to make it look as good as we possibly can," Line says.

One saving grace for the Mall is that the inauguration took place in the middle of the winter - when the grass really isn't growing at all.

"We have to look at what damage there could be into the spring and the summer, when people are going to expect it to look green," Line says.

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