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, and cast by Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry of Florence, Italy, Arlington Memorial Bridge defines the western end of the National Mall.

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.

[5] Congress again passed a resolution requesting another design, and in late 1887 the department proposed a "General Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Bridge".

[18] 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.

[22] The McMillan Plan proposed siting a major new bridge and memorial at the western end of the National Mall, an area also known as West Potomac Park.

[25] After terrible flooding inundated much of downtown Washington, D.C., in 1881, Congress ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge a deep channel in the Potomac and use the material to fill in the Potomac shoreline (creating the current banks of the river) and raise this and much of the land near the White House and along Pennsylvania Avenue NW by nearly 6 feet (1.8 m) to prevent future flooding.

[29] Congress first appropriated money for the beautification of the reclaimed land in 1902, which led to the planting of sod, bushes, and trees; grading and paving of sidewalks, bridle paths, and driveways; and the installation of water, drainage, and sewage pipes.

[40] The parties also agreed to seek to construct a low (rather than monumental) bridge with a bascule (drawbridge) in the center to permit ship traffic to reach the Georgetown waterfront.

On the Columbia Island landing, Kendall envisioned a gigantic crossarm circumscribed by a grassy ellipse, with traffic circles at the terminus of the north and south arms.

The commission was especially pleased that Kendall had the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway linked to the traffic circle around the Lincoln Memorial rather than passing beneath the bridge via an arch.

The CFA also discussed at length its long-standing proposal for a major traffic circle on Columbia Island, within which would be placed a memorial to Robert E. Lee.

[52] Floor managers won a major victory, however, when the House quickly passed the appropriations legislation and allowed the bridge bill to be considered on February 18.

The dedication ceremony was headed by President Herbert Hoover who became the first person to drive across it, leading a small party of 12 cars down the George Washington Parkway to Mt.

[60] Due to a lack of lights, ongoing construction and poor connections on the Virginia side, the bridge and highway were only open during daylight hours on Saturday and Sunday.

[69] The northeastern entrance to the Arlington Memorial 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 sculptor Carl Paul Jennewein.

The bridge connects, both literally and symbolically, the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House, the former home of Civil War General Robert E. Lee.

The center portion of the bridge was originally a metal draw span,[64] intended to allow large vessels to pass upriver to Georgetown.

The draw span was repainted, the bridge repaved, the west engine room heated, and the granite on the Virginia abutments repointed and cleaned.

[83] Preservation and repair work was performed on the bridge's sidewalks in January 2011, which led to the closure of two lanes in each direction during daytime non-rush hours.

[85] In June 2012, Cianbro Corp. oversaw an eight-week, $788,000 project to repair the bridge's deck, restore granite curbs, and replace sidewalks at both approaches.

[89] In April, National Park Service transportation division head Charles N. Borders II declared, "The bridge ... is really at the end of, and beyond, its life cycle".

"[90] Among the problems noted in the report: moderate amounts of rusting were found on all the bridge's load-bearing beams, there were moderate to widespread cracks in the reinforced concrete arch spans, metal flakes (or "spalls") were coming off the steel beams on the road deck's underside, and the drainage system was clogged in many places by debris or rust.

Borders suggested that if Congress were to immediately fund the bridge's complete overhaul, a two- to four-year reconstruction could begin as early as 2016.

Moreover, experts discovered that corrosion had so affected secondary support beams throughout the rest of the bridge that they imposed a limit of 10 short tons (9.1 t) per vehicle, essentially barring most buses from crossing.

[92] While the weight limit was indefinite (pending full rehabilitation of the bridge), NPS officials said the lanes and sidewalks would be closed six to nine months to allow workers to shore up the corroded beams and bascule span.

[90] Cianbro Corp. of Maine, which rehabbed the bridge a decade earlier, won a $2.5 million contract to begin the repairs, which were estimated to take about six months to complete.

[93] In a July 2016 statement issued jointly by the offices of Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine; Representatives Don Beyer, Gerald Connolly, and Barbara Comstock; and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the NPS planned to repair the bridge in two phases.

Among the films in which it makes an appearance include No Way Out, Argo, A Few Good Men, Evan Almighty, Airline Disaster, and Wedding Crashers.