Everything about Arlington Memorial Bridge totally explained
Arlington Memorial Bridge connects
Columbia Island with the
Lincoln Memorial in
Washington, D.C. across the
Potomac River. The eastern end of the bridge marks the western edge of the
National Mall. The western end continues onto the
Arlington National Cemetery in
Arlington,
Virginia.
The bridge's construction was authorized by
Congress on
February 24,
1925 and formally opened on
January 16,
1932. The dedication ceremony was headed by President
Herbert Hoover. Designed by architectural firm
McKim, Mead and White, the
neo-classical bridge is 2,163 feet (660 m) long.
Although the bridge was part of the 1901
McMillan Commission's plan for restoring
Pierre L'Enfant's original plan for the capital, two decades passed before construction was initiated. President
Warren G. Harding was caught in a three-hour traffic jam while on his way to dedicate the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, because the previous wooden bridge couldn't handle the traffic. The ensuing turmoil led to appropriation for the bridge construction.
The eastern entrance to the bridge features the "Arts of War" sculptures, "Sacrifice" and "Valor", which were completed by
Leo Friedlander in 1951. On the pylons of each pier of the bridge are large circular discs with eagles and fasces designed by the sculptor
Carl Paul Jennewein.
The closest
Metro stop to the bridge is
Arlington Cemetery. The bridge connects, both literally and symbolically, the
Lincoln Memorial and
Arlington House, the home of
Robert E. Lee. This placement was done intentionally to represent the reunification of the north and the south.
At the western terminus on
Columbia Island, the bridge and its connecting roadways connect with the
George Washington Parkway and with
State Route 27 and
State Route 110. At the eastern terminus, the bridge and its connecting roadways connect with
Constitution Avenue,
Independence Avenue, the
Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, and the District of Columbia segment of
Interstate 66.
A peculiarity of the
traffic circle at the western terminus is that traffic already in the circle must yield to traffic entering the circle — the exact opposite of the usual rule. During morning
rush hour, a portion of the traffic circle is closed to prevent mergers that would otherwise tie up rush-hour traffic.
The center span of the bridge is a metal
draw span, intended to allow large vessels to pass upriver to
Georgetown. However, with the construction of the
Theodore Roosevelt Bridge immediately upstream, which has no such provision, the draw mechanism has been abandoned.
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