The rapid growth of residential developments east of the Anacostia River led to the construction of a narrow, iron girder bridge in 1890.

[5] In 1795, Daniel Carroll, William Duncanson, Thomas Law, Notley Young, George Walker, and Matthew Wigfield petitioned the Maryland General Assembly for permission to construct a bascule bridge over the Anacostia River.

[11][12] Early in the afternoon, Captain John Creighton, a United States Navy officer, burned the bridge to the waterline.

But the Uniontown "suburb" was platted in the Anacostia area in 1854, and development slowly began to turn the agricultural land into businesses and residences.

[7] A new bridge, the EWCA pointed out, would save residents of East Washington 4 to 5 miles (6.4 to 8.0 km) in travel every time they visited the city center on the other side of the river.

[29] Later that year, Representative Barnes Compton (D-Maryland) introduced legislation in Congress to build a $60,000 bridge of wood on wooden piers.

Senator Blackburn and Representative Rowell won a $40,000 increase in the amount appropriated for the bridge, and inserted language into the bill requiring that it be constructed of iron and be set on stone piers.

Complications arose when the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (B&PR), whose tracks ran along the north/eastern shore of the Anacostia River, sued the federal government, arguing that the bridge abutment encroached on its right-of-way; eventually the railroad agreed to move its tracks closer to the riverbank, and the federal government paid for the move.

Due to the heavily silted bottom of the river, the Army Corps of Engineers could not find solid ground on which to build the bridge's piers and abutments, requiring construction of a cofferdam and extensive excavation and investigation of the riverbed.

Some 8,000 to 10,000 people attended the event, which included the United States Marine Band, conducted by John Philip Sousa, providing music throughout the afternoon and evening.

He made so much money that by 1905 he formed the development of "North Randle Highlands" (now the neighborhoods of Dupont Park, Penn Branch, and the lower portion of Greenway), which extended to Massachusetts Avenue SE.

[36] In October 1906, The Washington Post called Randle's developments "among the largest real estate enterprises ever successfully carried through in the District.

The Randle Highlands Citizens Association issued a report to the House Committee on Appropriations asking for a $15,000 grant to study the need for and design of a new bridge.

The report noted that roadways with a combined width of 184 feet (56 m) approached the 24-foot-wide (7.3 m) bridge, leading to extensive and dangerous traffic congestion.

[42] But in August 1935 the Southeast Businessmen's Association (a group of east-of-the-river business owners) threatened to petition the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration for a new bridge.

[57] Twelve days later, the Southeast Business Men's Association formed a committee to lobby the District Commissioners for a $750,000 appropriation to build a new bridge.

[63] Senator Royal S. Copeland (D-New York) introduced a resolution (S. 2651) on June 15, 1937, ordering the bridge to be named after famed composer, conductor, and D.C. native John Philip Sousa.

He submitted to the City Commissioners a five-year plan laying out all transportation infrastructure requirements for the national capital, prioritizing each item.

[71] Whitehurst's proposal received the immediate support of the Hillcrest Citizens Association, which began lobbying the District Commissioners to seek the appropriation yet again.

[76][77] On February 5, the Federation of Citizens Associations passed a resolution advocating cancellation of all underpass construction so that the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge could be rebuilt.

Senator Elmer Thomas (D-Oklahoma) demanded that if Tydings' effort was successful that other projects be cut so as not to raise the overall cost of the bill.

The strike, which began on August 14, immediately halted concrete work not only on the new Sousa Bridge but on more than 20 building and transportation infrastructure projects, and idled more than 5,000 workers.

[92] On August 25, Representative William Alvin Pittenger (R-Minnesota) asked the Army Corps of Engineers to break the strike and supply sand and gravel itself.

Federal Works Agency Administrator John M. Carmody questioned why the single source was used to supply all the sand and gravel to so much projects, and threatened to find a new supplier if a settlement was not forthcoming.

John R. Steelman, head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, announced he was personally intervening in the negotiations to bring an end to the strike.

[102] Two Boy Scouts, George Durham and Jack Green,[101] played "Taps" in the direction of nearby Congressional Cemetery (where Sousa was buried).

Work on the second span was temporarily interrupted in July 1940 when 250 workers at Smoot Sand & Gravel walked out to protest a job classification by the federal Wage and Hour Division.

The strike began on July 9, lasted five days, and idled more than 6,500 workers (including those working on the Social Security and Railroad Retirement Board buildings) as no concrete could be delivered.

[115] In 1956, federal and regional transportation planners proposed an Inner Loop Expressway composed of three circumferential beltways for the District of Columbia.

[130] But after protests from residents of Capitol Hill (who feared the Barney Circle Freeway would cause more traffic to flow into the area) as well as environmentalists, and legal and regulatory challenges,[132][133] Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) officials agreed in August 1994 to conduct an additional environmental impact assessment regarding the project,[134] but later said the assessment's findings did not alter its earlier conclusion that construction of the roadway and bridge project was economically feasible, technologically appropriate, and environmentally sound.