Arlington County, Virginia area. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., of which it was once a part. With a land area of , Arlington is the geographically smallest self-governing county in the U.S., and by reason of state law regarding population density, has no incorporated towns within its borders. Due to the county's proximity to downtown Washington, D.C., Arlington is home to many important installations for the capital region and U.S. government, including the Pentagon, Reagan National Airport, and Arlington National Cemetery. Many schools and universities have campuses in
Construction of the Virginia approaches to Arlington Memorial Bridge state, so long as it did not skirt the county. Only by building the road through Arlington County could the NCPC's goal of increased urbanization be met, they said, and both agencies urged the state and the county to make their choice quickly. The CFA continued to study how Virginia should best connect to Arlington Memorial Bridge in 1929, and another set of preliminary plans were submitted by William Kendall in July 1930. But few of the problems facing the various plans were solved by November 1930, and the state and county still declined to choose an approach route. By