In DC's air and space museum..............on the 1st floor.........in the exhibit on the weather....................where there is a pic of the greater dc area to include the Chesapeake bay.........there is a pic of this bridge and the one just north of it.............the one that crosses Teddy R. island...........


There are several bridges really close to each other...............

Arlington Memorial Bridge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arlington Memorial Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Memorial Bridge with the Arlington National Cemetery and Arlington House in the background
Location	Potomac River Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′14″N77°3′20″WCoordinates: 38°53′14″N 77°3′20″W
Built	1932
Architect	McKim, Mead, and White
Architectural style	Neoclassical Central bascule Arch bridge
Governing body	National Park Service
NRHP Reference #	80000346[1]
Added to NRHP	April 4, 1980[2]

The Arlington Memorial Bridge is a Neoclassical masonry, steel, and stone arch bridge with a central bascule (or drawbridge) that crosses the Potomac River atWashington, D.C., the capital of the United States. First proposed in 1886, the bridge went unbuilt for decades thanks to political quarrels over whether the bridge should be a memorial, and to whom or what. Traffic problems associated with the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in November 1921 and the desire to build a bridge in time for the bicentennial of the birth of George Washington led to its construction in 1932.

Designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White, decorated with monumental statues depicting valor and sacrifice by sculptor Leo Friedlander, Arlington Memorial Bridge defines the western end of the National Mall. The bridge's draw span was permanently closed in 1961. The bridge has received minor repairs, but as of 2013, never a major overhaul and is deteriorating. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Contents

   [hide] 

• 1 Early attempts to build a bridge
  • 1.1 Early memorial bridge proposals
  • 1.2 McMillan Plan proposal
• 2 Construction: 1922-32
  • 2.1 Bridge design considerations
  • 2.2 Legislative approval
  • 2.3 Bridge construction
• 3 About the bridge
  • 3.1 Architecture
• 4 Renovation history
  • 4.1 2013 and 2015 inspections
  • 4.2 2015 lane closures
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 Bibliography
• 8 Further reading
• 9 External links

Early attempts to build a bridge[edit]

Early memorial bridge proposals[edit]

An early 1887 design for the memorial bridge across the Potomac River, by Paul J. Pelz.

A 1901 design for the memorial bridge by Edward P. Casey and William H. Burr, accepted by the Secretary of War but never constructed.

Congress first proposed a bridge at the site of the current structure on May 24, 1886. The resolution required that the United States Department of War study the feasibility of a bridge at the site, and a 24-foot (7.3 m) wide design was proposed later that year.^[3] The following year, the War Department suggested a "Lincoln-Grant Memorial Bridge". Congress again passed a resolution requesting another design, and in late 1887 the department proposed a "General Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Bridge". The new bridge would be a suspension bridge 105 feet (32 m) high, with 98 feet (30 m) of clearance below it.^[4] Designs for the bridge at this time included a bare steel truss bridge, a low masonry arch bridge, and a Romanesque Revival structure by Paul J. Pelz with two massive central towers, two barbicans on each end, and exuberant ornamentation.^[5] Senator John W. Daniel sponsored legislation in 1897 funding a survey of the bedrock in the Potomac River.^[6] Congress approved the legislation the same year, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers began the survey in July.^[7] The survey was delivered in March 1898.^[8]

Because the bridge was conceived as a memorial to Grant, Congress repeatedly blocked funding for the bridge. But after the Corps' survey was complete, Congress authorized the Secretary of War to expend $5,000 ($141,740 in 2015 dollars) on a bridge design competition. To help improve the prospects for a bridge, a "National Memorial Bridge Association" was formed.^[a] In July, four prominent bridge engineers from New York — George S. Morrison, Leffert L. Buck, William H. Burr, and William R. Hutton — were invited to submit designs for a memorial bridge to honor American war dead.^[b] A five-member board appointed by the Secretary of War^[c] selected a design by William H. Burr and architect Edward P. Casey (designer of the Taft Bridge). Their design, based on the 1887 winning plan, called for a drawbridge made of steel and stone with 36 arches. A "classical" tower sat over each end of the draw span, on top of which would stand bronze statues of Victory. Statues of famous generals and statesmen (in either bronze or granite) would line both sides of the bridge.^[12][13]

Senator George F. Hoar blocked the bridge from being built in June 1900 because he opposed the design.^[12][14] The National Memorial Bridge Association began pushing again for a bridge in October 1900,^[15] and commissioned Connecticut architect George Keller to design plans. Keller's design went on display in Washington in November. Contrary to almost all previous designs, his bridge was low to the water and eliminated a draw span.^[16] His design featured a monumental Romanesque Revival arch for the D.C. approaches and a memorial column celebrating the Union on the Virginia side, both to be placed in traffic circles. Keller's design was published in architectural magazines, and by 1901 was widely seen as the appropriate design for the bridge.^[12]

In 1901, the American Institute of Architects proposed that the bridge extend New York Avenue NW (which then ended at 23rd Street NW) over the Potomac to Arlington National Cemetery.^[17] But once more, Congress did not act.