Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-10
CHANGING THE GRADE
WORK ON II STREET COMMENCED
TODAY.
Big Steam Shovel Ploughing It's Way
Ahead-Plans of Railroad
Engineers.

4'he work of changing the grade Of III
btreet to permit the running of the street
cars undor the approaches to the Union
station was begun today. This work was
to have been commenced yesterday, but
owing to the unwillingness of the first
steam shovel put in position to do the work
required of IL at the start. the actual De-
ginning was delayed until this morning.
This is said to be the most difficult feat
the engineers In charge of the erection OF
the great station and Its approaches VIII
have TO perform. In some places the grade
of the street will have to be lowered many
feet and all this must be done without dis
turbing the traffic on the street car line
that now runs through this thoroughfare
The difficulties that enter into the work
of lowering the grade of this street are
considerably enhanced by the character OF
the present grade. From the Delaware
avenue crossing of the tracks of the Balti-
more and Ohio railroad to I'd street there
Is a considerable grade I'd street being
about twelve or fifteen feet higher than the
level of Delaware avenue The first exca-
vation- is being made at the corner OF "a
and II street. where the deepest cut VIII
be. At this corner there was formerly an
old property yard of the District sewage
department. The terra Gotta pipes, etc.,
have been removed to a more convenient
spot above / street near Sd street, ana
everything out lHt Olu COdi ydiu iloo pSSi'
cleared from the triangular block between
II and / and I'd streets and Delaware ave-
nue.. The first steam shovel to start In ms
task of digging out an entire block, was
put in place early in the week. 1t was
started yesterday and did not work right
and a new location was chosen. All day
yesterday the workmen showed and pushed
the monster piece of machinery into the
new location and this morning 1t was
started to work.
This section of the approach to the sta
ton is the last to receive attention from
the workmeh because in the first place II
was considered the most difficult job, and
then it was not nece ssary to disturb the
car tracks until everything was ready for
the beginning of the foundation structures
and the viaduct at that point. Last week
the engineers secured the necessary permit
for the performance of this task.
Bearing on Whole Work.
The operations at this particular point
have a bearing on the whole work of con-
structing the station building because they
involve the tearing up of all the tracks of
the steam railroad which now form a net
work over the vast space between Delaware
avenue and LIST street, III street and the
present station of the Baltimore and Ohio
company. At a point between T and g
streets the tracks of the railroad branch
out in two directions, those for the main
line of the road passing along Delaware
avenue and those for the western division
or the metropolitan Dranch, as 1t is called
going out list street, the space between the
tracks on these direct lines being filled with
side tracks for freights etc Just above l
street the two divisions of the road were
connected by a single track, forming what
Is called a "Y," which can be used to
switch the through trains from one division
of the road to the other for a continuous
trip without reversing the train. and which
was most used by through freights which
did not stop in Washington. The old ''Y''
was curved around squares 715 and TIC.
The old switch from the main line was a
little east of I'd treet, and the METROPOLITAN
Dranch was reached at a point opposite
Myrtle street.
Within month or two all trains over the
main line will pass over a new "Y," which
IS now being laid directly through squares
10 and Il6, in a straight line, with double
track The switch will be set little east
OF I'd street, and the tracks will converge
INTO the western division tracks at the
point where the old "Y" ended From here
the trains will go by a direct line, over new
tracks, into the present station and will
thus De carried entirely off of the site of
the station building This will permit the
engineers to remove all the tracks from
the site OF the station, and the approaches
VIII permit the continuance of the work of
laying the foundations on the western half
Vi tne site. IhiS strengthening of the grade
OF ii street to conform with the yiaduct
pans haS twofold result The clearing of
the western half of the site cannot be ac
coInphshed Immediately, however.
Location of Coal Dump.
Inc railroad company established it's coal
az L street several years ago. Half
OF the block between North CAPITOL and LIST
and F and G streets east was occupied nv
large coal dump. This dump is now di-
Iecty In the way of the work of the en-
gireers Before this obstruction can be re-
moved the railroad company is compelled
10 provide the coal merchants with an
other dump, as the destruction of the F.
street structure would have a serious eff
lect on the coal supply of the citizens of
the District. With this end in view the
company started the erection of an inn
mehse dump north of NJ street between LIST
ana "a streets northeast. An entire block
Is being utilized for this purpose and the
structure Is TO be permanent Concrete
FOUNDATIONS have been put in place and the
WCrkmen are rushing through with the
re, uest i SO mat the dump can be put to the
use LOT which 1t was intended as soon as
pCSSloie. II Is expected that this dump
VIII be ready Tor use some time in July.
me concrete foundations for the viaduct
are now almost CON pleted on the eastern
half of the site. These foundations extend
the length of three blocks and include not
only the foundations for the building prop
er. out the supports for the viaduct as well
Inc former have not progressed to a stage
that shows anything of the contour of the
building. The viaduct bases take the form
or long walls of stone and concrete the
spaces between which are to be filled with
earth and packed hard. In some instances
the stone Is Used alone and is paralleleI
with concrete walls. At other points on
the site the stone structure has been erect
ed and a supplemental structure of con-
crete added. The concrete work is the
largest that has ever been done in this
city the huge walls rising to a height of
twenty-five feet In some places. The foun-
dations for all of the walls are of concrete
CASES DISPOSED OF