Crews work on setting up an archway on the National Mall, during preparations for an upcoming military parade commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary and coinciding with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Preparations are underway for a military parade Saturday in Washington, D.C., celebrating the Army's 250th anniversary that is projected to cost $45 million and possibly higher because of possible road damage.

In preparation for the parade, the city installed more than 200 steel plates and rubber mats to protect D.C.’s historic streets.

As Washington, D.C., cleans up from the weekend’s culmination of World Pride, the capital city’s focus now shifts straight into a very different mass event — the June 14 military parade to honor the 250th birthday of the army and the 79th birthday of President Donald Trump.

The U.S. Capitol is seen through security fencing, set up on the National Mall, during preparations for an upcoming military parade commemorating the Army’s 250th anniversary and coinciding with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, Thursday, June 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Troops get military assets into place and security fencing goes up around the National Mall where a large image of President Donald Trump drapes a federal building in preparation for Saturday's military parade marking the 250th anniversary of the U.

Eight years after Donald Trump was dazzled while watching a grand military parade in Paris, the president is finally getting a chance to try to top the spectacle.

There were funnel cakes, stands of festival bling and American flags aplenty. There were mighty machines of war, brought out to dazzle and impress. And there was the spray of tear gas against demonstrators in Los Angeles and Atlanta,