Sponsor
Richard Joseph Durbin
Senator · D-IL
Senator · D-IL
The bill clarifies the Gateway Arch site's official name and legal boundary to improve visitor recognition and park administration, at the expense of modest public administrative costs and a risk of boundary disputes with nearby landowners.
Local governments and park managers: the law fixes the park's legal boundary to 102.18 acres and references a single official map (January 1992), reducing ambiguity for park administration, planning, and land-use decisions.
Visitors, local residents, and tourists: renaming the site 'Gateway Arch National Park' clarifies its federal designation and signage, making the site easier to find, recognize, and market.
Adjacent property owners and local governments: fixing the boundary to a specific 1992 map could prompt disputes or legal challenges if prior informal uses relied on a different boundary, creating potential costs and delays.
Taxpayers and government agencies: the name change and any required updates to signage, legal documents, and marketing will impose modest administrative costs on federal, state, and local entities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Renames the unit to Gateway Arch National Park, updates acreage to 102.18 acres, and changes the statutory map reference to January 1992.
Official title: Amend the Act of May 17, 1954, to revise the boundary of Gateway Arch National Park.
Introduced July 13, 2026 by Richard Joseph Durbin · Last progress July 13, 2026
Renames the existing Jefferson National Expansion Memorial to "Gateway Arch National Park," adjusts the authorized park area from 100 acres to 102.18 acres, and updates the legal map reference to January 1992. The change edits the statutory wording that defines the unit name, acreage, and map citation used to describe the park boundary.