The White House Construction Project - "The Big Dig"

In 2010, the White House Deep Underground Command Center project secretly got underway. The construction equipment arrived and tall fences went up around the West Wing of the White House. An initial ill-conceived scheme to deceive the public about the true nature of the construction led to the widespread reporting of a mere "utility upgrade" project. However, the massive scope of the construction led to many questions and outrageous conspiracy theories.

In a spirit of openness and transparency, the Obama Administration has decided to set the record straight.

 

 

Deep Underground Command Center

Since the early 1960's, the need for a Deep Underground Command Center (DUCC) has been studied. This Top Secret 1963 memo outlined the requirements for the construction of a DUCC. Because of limits in technology at that time, the project was deferred. Fifty years later, the DUCC is finally becoming a reality.

The new underground command center serves two purposes: 1) To protect key people with sufficient staff and data to render critical decisions and 2) Ensure the survival of the facility to allow dissemination of these decisions. The DUCC can only serve this purpose if the President and his team can secretly relocate there on very short notice.

Unlike the Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) which is currently located below the East Wing of the White House, the DUCC will house its own massive communications center that interfaces with all military, intelligence, and critical federal agency systems. For security purposes, the exact specifications of the DUCC facility are classified.

 

 

Temporary Relocation of the Oval Office

The construction project will continue throughout 2012. In early 2013, the entire West Wing of the White House, including the Oval Office and the White House Mess will have to be relocated to allow for the installation of the elevators and secret entrances to the Command Center below them.

In 2007, a nondescript white building was constructed adjacent to the West Wing. (See photo above: building on far right). During the previous Administration, this building did not officially exist. However, in the spirit of openness and transparency, the purpose of this mysterious structure can finally be revealed: it contains the initial buildout of the DUCC communications center and will eventually be relocated underground when the command center infrastructure is complete in 2014.

 

The White House Tunnel System

Work first began on the secret White House underground tunnel system back in early 1950 under the Truman administration. The White House was deteriorating and it was determined that massive reconstruction was required.

President Truman relocated to the nearby Blair House for three years while the interior of the White House was completely rebuilt with concrete and steel beams.

It was during this time period that forward-thinking engineers came up with the plan to construct a massive underground secret network of tunnels and bunkers to provide the President and his staff the ability to quickly relocate during an emergency in the dawn of the Cold War era.

The Secret Metro Tunnels

The Washington Metro is a subway system that serves the Washington DC area. It "officially" has 106 miles of track serving 86 stations in the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. Planning for the Metro system began in the 1950s during the height of the cold war. President Eisenhower created a secret rail planning commission that directed the development of a secondary secret underground rail system built alongside the public one.

This secret tunnel system currently connects the White House to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next door, the bunker under the Blair House, the bunker under the VP Residence at the Naval Observatory, the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, and some federal buildings in between. Long-term plans for the expansion of the tunnel system include going south past the Pentagon; west past the CIA to Mount Weather; and north past Camp David up to Site R in Pennsylvania. The estimated completion date and exact route of this ambitious tunnel expansion plan remains classified.

 

Planned White House Tunnel System Expansion Map

 

Continuity of Government - Planning for the Unthinkable

In 2007, President George W. Bush signed the "National Security Presidential Directive 51" which in the event of a national emergency directed the "geographic dispersion of leadership, staff, and infrastructure in order to increase survivability and maintain uninterrupted Government Functions". The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was tasked with developing a comprehensive implementation plan.

In the event of a catastrophic national emergency, the White House is authorized to operate a shadow government outside of existing constitutional restraints and declare martial law to safely control a frightened and confused population. To prepare for this unthinkable event, the Deep Underground Command Center will function as an "underground White House". A tunnel will connect the new underground executive command center with the PEOC under the East Wing.

Buried deep within the 98-page FEMA plan is the strategy for the mass evacuation and relocation of every federal government agency including The White House and the military in response to an exceptional catastrophic event within the National Capital Region. Each agency is required to have a detailed Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) in place.

A key component of the Continuity of Government plan is ensuring the survival of those in the Presidential Line of Succession. FEMA maintains the Central Locator System (CLS), which tracks the 24-hour movements of key government officials.

In an emergency, these key officials will be relocated to various locations around the region. These sites include the Mt. Weather Emergency Operations Center, the underground bomb shelter at Camp David, and Site R.

In addition, there is a fleet of specialized vans and trucks that can be dispatched on a moment's notice to secret campgrounds located within the Shenandoah Valley and in nearby federal park lands in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania containing underground hardened facilities and emergency communication systems.

 

Presidential Emergency Operations Center (PEOC)

The PEOC was built six stories below ground under the East Wing to provide the President with a secure meeting place in the event of an emergency. Access to the PEOC is by an elevator located behind multiple vault-type doors with biometric access control systems.

On September 11, 2001, President Bush met with his National Security Council in the Presidential Emergency Operations Center. Photos of this secret location were published for the first time following this extraordinary gathering.

While the exact specification of this emergency Presidential bunker is classified, it is built to withstand a direct nuclear hit.

 

White House Construction Video

 

Learn more about opportunities for White House underground tours.