Evening star., 1933-05-28
BRIDGE APPROACH
FIGHT NEARS END
Fort Myer Right of Way Pro-
vided by Approved
Amendment.
BY LESTER N. INSKEEP.
STAFF Correspondent Of The Star.


ARLINGTON COURT HOUSE, Va.
May 27.-The end of a seven-yeal
fight over right of way through the
Fort Myer military reservation for the
construction of an approach to the
Arlington Memorial Bridge is seen in
the adoption Of an amendment to the
Presidents public works bill, which
will direct that rights of way through
Government property be given where
they are necessary to complete high
way projects coming under the pro-
visions of the bill. The amendment
was adopted and remained in the Dill
as 1t passed the House of Repre-
sentatives.
This amendment was nailed by the
''northern approach" advocates as re-
moving the last obstacle in the way of
constructing a connection between the
Lee Boulevard and the bridge. They
also consider that it places Chairman
H. G. Shirley of the Virginia State
Highway Commission in a position that
leaves him no choice in the matter of
constructing an approach, since not
only is the right of way provided for
in the measure, but also the necessary
funds are to be made available for the
work.
Fight Useless So Far.
Those who have been conducting a
long and heretofore useless fight for
the construction CT a connection be-
tween the boulevard and the bridge
point to the fact that Chairman Shirley
first said he could not build the road
because he could not get through the
northern end of the military reserva-
tion, and then said that he could not
build the southern approach after
rights of way had been authorized by
Congress because the commission was
committed to the northern route and
could not make a change without an
act of the next General Assembly,
which does not meet until next
January.
If the public works bill passes the
Senate with the amendment intact they
see no reason for any indecision and
will make a determined effort to have
the project gotten under way i'm
mediately.
The amendment, it is pointed out,
not only gives blanket authority for
authorizing rights of way, with the ap
proval Of the President and Attorney
General, but practically directs that
they be given.
Under the schedule of highway ap-
preparations to the States, Virginia is
to receive S7,614,000 for highway con-
Struction. The highest previous Fed
eral appropriation to Virginia for road
work for one year under regular and
emergency acts was approximately
S3,000000 and this had to be matched
by the State.
Matching Not Required.
The appropriation under the public
works bill does not have to be matched,
giving the State Highway Commission
this entire amount for projects other
than those included in their regular
schedules and to be paid for out of
current State revenues
A further provision in the bill re-
moves the restrictions as to the amount
Of money per mile that can be appro-
priated by the Federal Government to-
ward State projects, and this is con-
sidered significant since the limitation
has been approximately $25,000 a mile
and it has been estimated that the
two-mile long bridge approach would
cost from 100000 to 100000 a mile
The strip of land needed to get
through the Fort Myer reservation, it
was pointed out, is now being used
by the Army post as a dump, and its
value, in the opinion of the bridge
approach proponents, would be more
than Offset by the value to Fort Myer
of the approach to the bridge.
1t was pointed out today that the
proposed construction of the Lee
Boulevard connection has nothing to
do with the proposed Wilson Boulevard
approach, since the latter is a county
project and is to be constructed en-
tirely with county funds. 1t also was
pointed out that the State has three
years upon which to act with regard
to the proposed southern approach, and
that it is not unreasonable to assume
that both the northern and southern
connections NAV eventually be made