I live about a mile outside of Arlington Cemetery. It has not reached “capacity” yet. My firm belief is that the Pentagon would shut down Fort Meyer and tear down every structure on the military reservation....to eventually enlarge the cemetery onto those grounds. I would agree that it probably should have been closed to more after WW II....with another major cemetery established in the region.
I used to live "in" Arlington National Cemetery. By that, I mean I lived on Ft. Myer, South Post, California Hall to be more exact. I recall the "Green Room" as a favorite spot for both civilian and military people. The South Post is now a part of Arlington Cemetery.
The Ft Myers North Post is the base of operations for most Services' Honor Guards and burial teams. A large percentage of burials in Arlington National Cemetery originate from Old Post Chapel, one of the two chapels on Fort Myer.
I recently attended a military burial service for internment in the Columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery. The Columbarium is located adjacent to Section 60.
Section 70 is the highest numerical Section and I know people buried in Section 69 interned in 1980. Almost 20 years later, Arlington National Cemetery buried a Marine friend of mine in Section 59. My point is that there is a plan and the cemetery does not use the sections in numerical order.
The nearest National Cemetery to Arlington is located in Culpepper, Virginia.