Evening star., 1933-02-27
.$9(O,0DO IS ASKED
FOR ADDITIONAL
D. c. STREET WORK
Supplemental Appropriation
Request Is Made to Bu-
reau of Budget.
$3.50, 900 is SOUGHT
FOR P STREET BRIDGE
Money Expended Would Be Paid
Out of Receipts of Gas
oline Tax Funds.

A supplemental appropriation item OF
approximately 100000 for additional
highway improvements in the District
of Columbia during the fiscal year be-
ginning July /, to be paid out Of the
receipts Of the gasoline tax funds, was
placed before the Bureau of the Budget
today by District officials.
The largest single item included in
the additional budget request was said
to be one Of $250,000 to cover the cost
of the erection of new stone bridge
over Rock Creek, at P street, west of
Twenty-second street.
The remainder of the supplemental
items, for inclusion in the 1933-1934
budget, was understood to be for 10
cal street pavements, not included IL
the original District budget as sub
mitted to Congress.
Purposes Explained.
Mai. Daniel j. Donovan, District
auditor, and Capt. H. c. Whitehurst
director of highways, appeared before
officials of the Budget Bureau today to
explain the purposes OF the supple
mental appropriation items.
The action of the city officials in for
warding the supplemental appropria-
ton requests to the Budget Bureau was
an outgrowth of the open hearings be-
fore the Bingham Committee Of the
Senate Appropriations Committee, fol
consideration of the proposed 1884
budget.
The original District budget as sent
to Congress contained $4,000, 900, ap-
proximately, for highway improvements
to be provided under the expected
gasoline tax revenues for the next fiscal
year. From this budget the House
slashed an assortment of highway i'm
provement items totaling about $3.50, 600
Sentiment Favorable.
Sentiment expressed by Senator Bing-
ham and other members of the Senate
subcommittee on appropriations led
District officials to draft the supple
mental appropriation items. on the be-
lief that the expected gasoline tax reve-
! nues for next fiscal year would per-
nit progress on more work than origi-
nally requested.
Members of the Senate Committee in
dicatedr they believed the gasoline tax
next fiscal year would produce more
revenue than expected last December
when the budget originally was COM
pleted. and that should funds be ex-
pended for needed Improvements rather
than left as a surplus at the end OF
the year. July /, 1884
District officials will prepare the ad-
ditional local" street improvement.
work, for execution mex: year, should
the Senate restore the items eliminated
by the House and should they finally
be included in the bill
Such restoration of local street
items and the inclusion of the addi.
tional $500,000 would raise the figure
for highway items to about $4,000, 900
This would still be less than the $3,.
076.00 provided for the current fiscal
year.
Bridge Built in 1871.
The P street bridge over Rock Greek
was built in 1871 by the corporations
of Washington and Georgetown, with
equal division of cost, under authority
of Congress, in 1869 and 1870. The
bridge was reconstructed and widenec
by the Pennsylvania Bridge Co. in 1898
at cost of s11,510 and the bridge ap-
proaches again were widened in 1895
for the old Metropolitan Street Rail-
way Co., at a cost of $5,922.
The present structure has a span Of
112 feet, clear roadway Of 40 feet
between curbs and two 8-foot side
walks. The bridge has timber floor
and vehicular loads are limited to six
tons.
In an earlier justification for the
bridge appropriation item, District Of
ficials pointed out that further delay
in the construction Of the new bridge
! would constitute a bar to completion
of the Rock Greek Park Boulevard
which is to be extended under p stree,
to connect with Potomac Park. The
present structure is held to be struc-
turaIly inadequate for modern vehicu-
lar trafic.