On March 4, 1913, Congress created the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission (AMBC) whose purpose was to design and build a bridge somewhere in West Potomac Park which would link the city to Arlington National Cemetery. But Congress appropriated no money for the design or construction due to the onset of World War I. But after President Warren G. Harding was trapped in a three-hour traffic jam on the Highway Bridge while on his way to dedicate the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on November 11, 1921, Harding began pushing Congress to move on constructing a new bridge. Congress approved funding for design work on June 12, 1922, and authorized construction of the Arlington Memorial Bridge on February 24, 1925.