Evening star., 1932-02-23
MEMORIAL PAVING
WILL STAY CLOSED
Week Ends and Holidays Only
Exception Until About
May |.

Present indications are that the
Mount Vernon Memorial Highway will
remain permanently closed to public
| travel save for week end and holiday
let-ups, until May l.
Officials of the Bureau Of Public
Roads of the Department of Agriculture
said today that the landscaping, light
| ing and placing of top-soil on the slopes
are delaying the opening OF the high
way. On the tentative schedule of the
National George Washington Bicenten-
nial Commission, the formal dedication
of the Mount Vernon Highway will take
place on April 80.
The lighting of the new highway is
now proceeding, with rustic-type lamp
posts with hanging lamps for electric
lights being constructed between Alex
andria, Va, and Mount Vernon and the
more formal type of lighting with
metal posts being erected between the
National Capital and Alexandria. The
completion date of the lighting contract
is now April /. =
Airport Pilots Protected.
The lighting in the vicinity Of the
Washington Hoover Airport presents a
problem that calls for the casting Of the
light rays so that airplane pilots will
not be blinded when swooping down to
landing, or taking of. The lamp
posts will be suitably marked with dan
ger signals to warn aviators.
The Bureau of Public Roads is now
placing topsoil over the rough gravel
slopes and hillsides of clay and this
process requires the passing and repass-
ing of trucks that would be menace
to passenger automobile traffic, the Of
flcials explained Much Of the top soil
is being secured from the marshy areas
between -Four Mile Run and Alexan-
dria. After the top soil is in the
planting will go forward and then the
work of the bureau along the new high
way will be flowing with the trafflc,
rather than croSs-wise, officials as
serted.
If motorists were permitted to use
the highway between Washington and
| Alexandria now, the officials said to-
! day, they might as well quit work. II
would be almost impossible for work
trucks to try to cross trafic, with an
estimated 1900 cars using the road
daily. they said
South of alexandria trafic has moi
ton. as a large percentage Of cars turn
at Alexandria to go on to Richmond
Va Consequently, the road south Of
Alexandria has always been open.
Landscaping Is Rushed.
The Bureau of Public Roads proposes
! to PVT in 115,000 plants under its land
| scaping program, officials said today.
| This will include shrubs and small
| trees and delivery of these is to start
the first week in March. This will be
earlier than usual for this type of
| work, but the open season, thus far,
! warrants this course. 1t will take
about two and half months to put
the plants in and in the event of in
clement weather this would be even
longer. Even with two and half
months to do the work, the workmen
will be kept hustling, officials said
Some expressed the belief that the last
| of the planting would not be in until
| about June l.
| Actual construction Of the highway
| the engineers said, was begun in Oc.
tober 1929, with the hydraulic pipe line
fills, formed of sand and gravel, pumped
up from the bed of the Potomac Rivel
by the dredgeS of the United State.
Engineer Office Grading started II
March, 1890, and considering the i'm.
| mensity of the engineering job. thu
officials asserted. the Mount Vernon
Memorial Highway has been finished
thus far, in remarkably short time.
When the highway is completed /
is to be turned over to the Office o.
Public Buildings and Public Parks
During week ends and holidays wher
it is now open to the public, the United
States park police patrol it, although
there is a multitude of legal problem
surrounding the highway and its status