For the past several years, there was a common sight along the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.

No, we're not talking about the cherry blossoms, or even the tourists and locals that gather annually to gawk at them — we're talking about the flooded walkways and deteriorating infrastructure that arose as the south side of the 1800s-era seawall sank into the water.

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Now, after two years of rehab, the National Park Service says phase one of the seawall reconstruction project is complete.

Phase one is the part of the project that necessitated removing more than 300 trees from the area, including the world-famous cherry trees. The flooding around the Tidal Basin threatened the wellbeing of those trees, and would have prevented

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