Evening star., 1935-04-15
ACT TO ELIMINATE
GRADE CROSSINGS
Maryland Officials Place 9
Nearby Hazards on Pre-
ferred List.
BY JACK ALLEN.

OfficialS OF the Maryland ROADS
Commission, moved by the tragedy in
which IA children lost their lives at
Rockville, were laying plans today for
the elimination of number OF dan
gerous grade crossings with Federal
public works funds recently made
available by Congress.
Included in a list of 81 crossings
which the commission is considering
for removal are 9 in Montgomery and
Prince Georges Counties which con-
stitute a serious menace to Veh1cular
tafic in the vicinity of the National
Capital.
Meanwhile authorities investigating
the horrifying calamity in which the
ill-fated Williamsport High School bus
was demolished by Baltimore & Ohio
express postponed the preliminary
hearing of Percy Line. driver OF the
bus. who is charged with manslaugh-
ter. until May %.
The hearing was originally scheduleo
to be held in County Police Court AT
Rockville tomorrow, but the postpone
ment was granted to permit Survivors
Of the wreck, who are listed to appear
before the hearing as witnesses, 10
attend the funerals OF their COM
panions who were killed IN the CRASH
List of Crossings Prepared.
Elimination of a number of dam
eerous crossings in Maryland will be
made possible when the State re-
ceives its share of the S4,880 0,00O,O 600
nublic works fund allocated by Con-
eress and the State Roads Commls-
sion has prepared a list of 81 cross
ings from which it will select those
to be disposed Of.
Plans were begun after President
Roosevelt, shocked by the Rockville
tragedy, announced that between
slOO 100000 and $200,000,OOO would
be diverted from the general P. w. A.
fund to wipe out highway hazards
such as that which caused the death
of the Williamsport school children
Harry D. Williar, ir., chief engineer
OF the State Roads Commission. said
this morning that no information has
been received as to the amount OF
money Maryland will obtain from
the fund, but declared that the grace
crossings near Washington we're on
the preferred section OF the list
Hazards to Be Removed.
They are the crossings at Rockville
Kensington and Forest Glen in Mont
eomery County, all of which are on
the B. & O., and at Beltsville, River
dale. River road. Bowie, Landover and
Dodge Park in Prince Georges. The
first three in the latter group are on
the B. & O., Bowie and Landover are
on the Pennsylvania and Dodge Park
is on the Washington, Baltimore d
Annapolis Electric Railway
A wooden bridge now spans the lat
ter crossing. but 1t is due to be re-
placed with a modern structure OF
concrete and steel.
The 81 grade crossings were selected
BY the commission some months ago
out of a total of e21 such hazards
located in Maryland. OF this number
1873 are on State highways, 697 on
county roads and 26 on the streets
in municipalities.
sS00,0O0 for Work.
approximately 100000 has been
collected under the half-cent gasoline
tax which is ear-marked for grade
crossing eliminations, but very little
work has been done along that line
the past few years and the money
was diverted to the general funds of
the State.
This, Williar said, is due to the fact
that the law provides that railroads
must bear half of the cost of such
work and they have been unable to
do so because of strained financial
conditions. Consequently, only 13
grade crossing elimination structures
have been erected in recent years.
Williar said, however, he had been
informed that the railroads are to be
relieved of this requirement under the
Federal program and will not be re-
ouired to share in the cost of build
ing the structures.