The cross was built on private land with private funds. As originally conceived, the monument flanked the road facing the bridge over the Anacostia. The state acquired the property years later in connection with road widening and to build a traffic circle. This is the intersection between U.S. Alternate 1/Bladensburg Road and MD 450/Annapolis Road. These are busy roads. The cross now sits in the middle of the traffic circle and the state maintains the site, which means the state mows the grass.
If it was a nuisance then, why wasn't the monument moved as part of the road widening to someplace where it would be out of the way? There is a monument not 2 miles from where I live that was moved about 20 years ago, when the highway was re-adjusted and a new off-ramp setup implemented. As part of the project, the monument moved about 100 yards west of where it was, still very visible, but on private grounds, I think (now at the edge of a motel parking lot).
No muss, no fuss. And this is in Caliph-phony-a, to boot!