In August 1939, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia decided to instead embark on a tri-state road and bridge program to replace the destroyed bridge. Plans for bridges across the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers and connecting highways were completed in August 1940. The new bridge across the Potomac river was to be placed at Sandy Hook to exploit the scenic views of the Potomac Water Gap. However, in December 1940, construction was delayed and plans needed to be modified to eliminate a sharp turn at the Virginia landing of the bridge. Despite a late request from the Virginia State Highway Department to move the Potomac River crossing upstream in June 1941, the concrete substructure of the Sandy Hook bridge was started in autumn 1941. The substructure was completed in March 1943. A request for bids for the Sandy Hook bridge's steel superstructure was advertised in November 1941. However, with the U.S. entering into World War II the following month, the construction of the superstructure of the bridge would be delayed until after the war due to the unavailability of steel.