the Anacostia Freeway) in Prince George's County (authorized by Congress in 1930 but never built) and the Inter-County Metropolitan Freeway (proposed in 1944 and later planned and constructed as the Capital Beltway). The Regional Planning Council approved construction of the bridge just four months later. The bridge won the backing of Representative Joel Broyhill of Virginia, who championed legislation funding its construction in Congress. By November 1953, the US Department of the Interior had also recommended its construction. Congress authorized construction of the bridge on August 17, 1954, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the measure into law later that month. The bridge received its name through the efforts of Representative Burr Harrison, a Virginian who sought to honor the 100th anniversary of the birth of Woodrow Wilson. Eisenhower signed this legislation into law on May 22, 1956, as part of a bill authorizing initial funding for the bridge. Construction of the bridge began in September 1958, and it opened to traffic on December 28, 1961. Edith Wilson, Wilson's widow, died that very morning; she was supposed to have been the guest of honor at the bridge's dedication ceremony. The 5,900-foot (1,798 m) bridge included a bascule bridge to allow large, ocean-going vessels access to the port facilities of Washington DC. It had six traffic lanes and was designed to handle 75,000 vehicles a day. By 1999, the old Wilson Bridge was handling 200,000 vehicles a day, more than 2.6 times the original design capacity. The bridge had serious maintenance problems and underwent continuous patchwork maintenance beginning in the 1970s. It was completely redecked in 1982 and 1983. One of the reasons for the excess traffic was that it was not originally planned to be part of the major north–south I-95, but rather, as part of the circumferential Capital Beltway. I-95 was planned to bisect the Capital Beltway with a shorter through-route, extending north from Springfield, Virginia, across the Potomac River, through downtown Washington DC, and the northeastern section of DC, and into Maryland to reconnect with the beltway near College Park, Maryland. While the portions in Virginia and in DC south of New York Avenue were built, the remaining segment—designated the Northeast Freeway—was opposed by residents, and construction was canceled in the late 1970s. The portion north of Springfield was designated as a spur, I-395. The eastern half of the Capital Beltway was additionally signed as I‑95. Traffic was