Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-01
ITS RETENTION URGED
PLEA FOR FUTURE USE OF LONG
BRIDGE.
Residents Do Not Want It Abandoned
Immediately-Board of Trade
Interested.

Petitions to Col. Richard L. Hoxie con-
| corning the retention in service of the old
| Long bridge until the approaches to the
| new bridge may be properly tested have
| been brought to the attention of the Board
| of Trade. and it is understood active meas
| ures are being taken under direction of the
| board to secure such legislation as will pre-
: vent the closing of the bridge until the ade-
! quacy of the new structure is thoroughly
| tested.
Mr.. Archibald Greenlees of the Board of
Trade is especially interested, and the
pressing needs of the manufacturers of
Alexandria county, Va, for proper trans
| portation facilities are being urged before
Congress.
In the last report of the Board of Trade
President Cox says: 1.-The Highway bridge,
simple in design, though substantially con-
structed. is well under way, and travel over
1t will be larger than over any other bridge
in the District" The The report of the
committee on bridges, through it chairman,
Frank Hume. make the same comment as
to the amount of travel over the bridge
In a letter addressed to Liept Col. Rich
and L. Hoxie. Corps of Engineers. U. s.
A, and officer in charge of the New High
way Bridge, 7. L. Holbrook, w. T. Walker,
Elliott S. Morse, L. Perry West and H. A.
Walters, representing the interest Of the
brick manufacturers of Alexandria county,
Va. appeal for the retention of the old
Long Bridge until the approaches on the
north and south sides of New Highway
Bridge have been constructed and thor
oughly tested
Means Loss to Business.
In the event the old Long bridge should
| be closed to traffic before that is done their
| product of brick, they say, would be ex-
cluded from the Washington market to their
| irreparable injury and the District be de-
| prived of at least % per cent of its pres
ent brick supply
Advices received by those gentlemen from
| the engineer officer in charge of the APP
| proaches to the new highway bridge, and
| by the Crawford Paving Company, the con-
tractors for improving the approaches,
state that eight inches of broken stone
| and binder, some u feet wide, is to be
placed upon the fill for a roadway. Ex-
! perience has taught the manufacturers
| be destroyed in very short time after the
heavy traffic which will use the bridge is
i turned upon 1t. The appeal is, therefore,
made for a protection of the manufacturers
| Interests, well as those OF the govern
| ment.
Col. Hoxie, in reply dated September Z,
| 1905, said:
| There will be no objection on the part of
this office to the postponement of the
demolition of the Long bridge until after
| the coming winter and spring have tested
the capacity of the approaches to the new
Highway bridge to sustain the traffic"
Mr.. Holbrook. November 90 after an in
terView with the officers in charge, wrote to
| Col. Hoxie respectfully requesting, through
the Secretary of War, answers to the fol-
! lowing questions
When, under existing law, must the old
Long bridge be removed, and by whom?
What will constitute the completion of
| the new Highway bridge?
| Does not the completion of that bridge
mean that it, with its approaches on the
north and south sides. be in condition
| suitable for traffic of all kinds, both light
and heavy?"
Roadbed Inadequate.
The officers are said to have admitted
| that the concrete road constructed on the
| fill across the flats the north approach
| to the new Highway bridge, similar to that
which 1t was proposed to construct on the
south approach to the bridge, would not
sustain heavy traffic, and agreed that the
efforts of the Pennsylvania railroad to con-
struct a macadam road on the fill made by
them to form the northern approach across
the Potomac flats to connect with the old
Long bridge utterly failed, necessitating
the construction of a Belgian block pave
ment on top of the macadam which has
been a success.
When it was learned that the Washington
Southern railway is making prepare lions
for freight yard a half mile south of the
old Long bridge to unload lumber intended
for Washington and also that the electric
road makes use of the new Highway bridge
about January 3, 1906, and the Pennsylvania
railroad will cease to operate the draw and
will remove all rails not later than April, the
manufacturers again addressed Col. Hoxie.
In reply the engineer repeated that he was
authorized by the chief of engineers to say
that his office would not oppose any efforts
to obtain legislation which would relieve
the situation without compromising the in
terests committed to the charge of the War
Department.