Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-18
CITIZENS AROUSED
BY HIGHWAY DUST
Building of New Roads in
Arlington County Brings
Protests.


BALLSTON, Va, August 17.-Ham-
pered by detour signs and lost in clouds
OF dust as a result, Arlington County
was today entering into what promises
to be one Of the most hectic existences
ever experienced by residents, local mo-
florists and tourists. So bad has the
dust become that Grover E. Payne,
president OF the Arlington District
Council of Citizens Associations, Is max
ing plans for conferences with State
and county officials in an effort to have
1t curbed.
The present state of things has been
brought about by decisions of State and
county authorities to reconstruct two of
their most important highways at the
same time, the present drought being
responsible for the dust.
AS a result OF the widening of the
Lee Highway from Cherrydale to a
point near Halls Hill, traffic has been
rerouted over the recently completed
Memorial Drive to Garrison road and
thence back to the Lee Highway by a
roadway running just to the west Of
Lyon Village.
Memorial Drive, while wide, is a
&A=d and gravel road that has been
reduced by the dry weather and I'M
usual amount OF traf1lc to state that
would make most arid desert trails hang
their heads in shame. Ballston has long
since been lost in a never-clearing cloud
of dust. Motorists have dif1culty in
gaining a clear vision of the road and
housewives have reached a state border
ing on nervous prostration.
In No Position to Help.
While county engineers have observed
this condition, they point out that a
greater part of Memorial Drive is a
State route, which they could not touch
If they we're in a position to do so, but
that they could probably do nothing
anyway, since they have no facilities
for allaying the dust on that part OF
the highway coming under their own
supervision.
Ballston, however, is not alone in the
dust cloud, for parts of Clarendon and
Lyon Village, as we'll as a number of
smaller subdivisions lying between, also
are lost almost from view.
AS though this were not enough, the
rest of the northern end Of the county
consists Of a number of ever-changing
detours as a result Of the Wilson Boule
ward widening and the excavating be-
ing done by the county and public util-
ity concerns as a result. A resident
driving home tonight by one route may
find himself detoured over another to-
morrow night and still another by the
next is the complaint.
Want Uniform System.
A cry for a uniform system Of de-
tours was answered today by Engineer
Thomas N. De Lashmutt, when he
pointed out that the county, because
of the insistence from many quarters
is attempting to keep the road open as
long as possible. While this is being
done, he said. the road will be so rough
by next week that those who would
ordinarily use 1t will hastily seek some
other route of reaching their homes.
Efforts will be made by civic and
trade organizations, it was said today,
to have the State put coating OF oil
on Memorial drive and Garrison road.
If they fail in this. they will seek tie
use of a sprinkler. and If this fails,
there is nothing left to do but buy
up surplus Army gas masks and pray
for rain.