Richmond awards contract to remove monument pedestals

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Richmond has awarded a contract for removing the city’s last major Confederate statue, along with nine other pedestals whose monuments have already been taken down. The winning bidder is the same company that recently took down the city’s Robert E. Lee memorial. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the contract will be awarded to Newport News-based Team Henry Enterprises. The company bid $1.5 million on the project. Taking down the monument of Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill is complicated because his remains are buried beneath it. The nine other pedestals are now mostly graffiti-covered eyesores along the city’s iconic Monument Avenue.