Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-03-30
Plans of Street Extension Sent to
Highway Commission.
PREPARED BY DISTRICT OFFICIALS
Territory Lies South and East Of
Anacostia River.
FEATURES OF THE PLATS

Inc D1Str1ct commissioners nave trans
mitted to the highway commission, con-
sisting of the Secretaries of War and In
terror and of the chief of engineers, United
States army. the maps of the fourth Sec
ton of the proposed plan of highway ex-
| tension for the consideration of the COM
mission. The plans were prepared in ac-
2. 1898. and the amendment to said act ap-
proved June %. 1888. AS provided in the
! amendment, public hearing was given by
the District Commissioners several days
ago. as stated in The Star, at which about
thirty property owners were present, and
at which hearing no objections were made
to the plans.
The Commissioners explain to the high
way commission that the territory covered
by the fourth section is all that portion of
the District lying south and east of the
Anacostia river. and covers an area of
9,3Oo acres excluding 364 acres of the st.
Elizabeth Insane Asylum. 1t is the final
section to be offered for record tenta-
tive plan of the fourth section was made
ABOUT four years ago, the method then
pelng to Keep as close as possible to a
were made during the past four years.
some of the plans differing very radically
from each other After a number of con-
SITUATIONS with interested parties and a
section. 1t was concluded by the Commits
s.oners that a right-line plan was, from
considerations OF expense, only feasible in
Isolated places. and that the fourth Sec
tion as a whole demanded q plan guided
by typographical features
Calculations rs to Cost.
In order to present some example of what
a close copy Of the city system would cost
calculations were made as to the expense
of grading the hill just south of PennsyIva-
MIA avenue and east of 2Sth street east,
taking an area of thirty acres To accom-
modate this tract to a right-line plan the
NUMBER OF cubic yards of earth to be moved
is nearly 100000. costing about 5000, 600.
Inc present market value of the tract is
ABOUT $eo,OOU. This, the Commissioners
state, is fair example of what would oc-
cur over third of the area of the fo,rt h
section by locating gridiron system
Between the Good Hope road and ST
EiizaoethS Insane Asylum grounds most
OF the land has been subdivided into small
holdlngs. and includes the subdivisions of
Ahacostla, Barry Farm, Stanton Garfield
Buena Vista. etc. These. although conti--
uous, are laid out with little regard to each
other. and are held by so many owners
that rectifcation will involve enorno,,s ex-
peHSe: Near the east corner of the District
are the subdivisions of Deanwood Burr
VILE, Lincoln and Grant Park. where
similar conditions exist. The rest of the
section IS comparatively free of subdyis-
ions. and allows considerable Iatitude in tha
location of new highways
These conditions explain the Commits
Sioners, nave rendered it advisable nor to
chanse the existing subdivisions. and the
system mas been SO planned. This is sub
1ect to certain exceptions
There are cases where small b,a;
aiong Old country roads cannot properly h
ciasseo as subdivisions. These have ben :,
ahected by the widening of the old county,
ROAD or highway. In a few cases existing,
streets could not be given an outlet toward
tne city except by breaking through an ex-
OF minor character, and can be adjusted
IN the majority of cases by the owners
with advantage to themselves
Features of the Section.
Some features of the fourth section
plan are as follows: East Capitol street and
massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues
are extended direct to the District line.
Minnesota avenue is located in direct lines
over comparatively level stretch and will
take the place of the tortuous Anacostia
road. curved avenue or fort drive IL To-
Gated on the main RIDGE touching old forti-
ncatlons or passing exceptional points of
view. A winding avenue has been loca ted
petWeen minnesota avenue and the main
ridge and running approximately paraIIeJ
to the ridge. In all rough portions of tho
section blocks have been left of large size,
sometimes exceeding twenty acres, the idea
peine 10 allow the owners freedom in To-
catins minor streets whose positions can
De better studied in the future
The fourth section, the Commissioners
state. mas been reported upon by Mr. c. ].
Olmsted; whose suggestions they embodied
in the plan.