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 of Virginia abandoned its plans and agreed to begin work on the northern route for Lee Boulevard. For nearly a year, state and county officials had disagreed whether the northern route rights-of-way were adequate to begin construction. The state disagreed, but Arlington County officials did not wish to spend more money in the depths of the Great Depression to acquire more rights-of-way. By actively reconsidering the southern route, however, the state of Virginia put pressure on Arlington County to fix the rights-of-way problems with the northern route. Agreement to begin construction on the northern route finally was reached on August