Evening star., 1935-07-18
HIGHWAY PLAN
. ENDING AIRPORT
HAZARD OFFERED
Three Virginia Civic Bodies
Favor System of Capital
Approaches.
WOULD ELIMINATE
OLD MILITARY ROAD
Arlington Board to Pass on Pro-
posals by Which to Speed Traf.
fic and Add Convenience.

? Plan for a comprche develop
ment of highway amp caches to Wash
ington from Virginia, which not only
would eliminate Military road across
Washington Airport, but would greatly
improve all traffic approaches to this
city from a score Of Virginia suburbs
have been drafted by group of
three Virginia civic bodies and will
be submitted at once to the Arlington
County Board Cor approval, it was an
nounced today.
The sponsors OF the plan, repre-
serting the jefferson Civic League,
the Arlington Ridge Citizens AsSocia-
ton and the Arlington Citizens As
sociation Road Committee, exp; esSed
the belief that Military road should be
closed at once to end the Washing
ton Airport hazard and that funds
proposed for widening of Columbia
pike should be diverted to the con-
struction OF a substitute for Military
road around Washington Airport
The plan calls for new road
skirting the south DO .r.dary of Wash
ington Airport, connecting United
States route No. ! with Columbia
pike; a new road from Columbia pike
through Arlington detrimental Farm
to Arlington Memorial Bridge, new
road from the Mount Vernon
Memorial Boulevard and United States
No. through tlIe "c.sy mines ad-
joining the brick works near Columbia
pike and connecting with the pike
and the new experimental farm road,
and several smaller connecting links.
Would End Difficulty.
Horace L. Woodward, Arlington Ridge
delegates and member of the 10-Year-
Plan Committee, who prepared map
showing the proposed plan, explained
that the new road system would elimi-
nate all the difficulty at Washington
Airport and would greatly speed the
flow of traffic between Washington and
all the suburban sections from Claren-
don south to Alexandria.
Mr.. Woodward explained that the
National Capital Park and Planning
Commission has proposed an arrange
ment of communications between the
new Memorial Bridge and the southern
and western portions of Arlington
County and that the new proposal put
forward today would supplement this
plan by providing necessary connec-
tions in the vicinity of the airport, the
Arlington Farms and Columbia Pike.
THE present connection between
Columbia Pike and Route No. l." Mr..
Woodward said, lis disgrace and has
resulted from the failure of the fight
of the citizens to prevent construction
of a rendering plant there. The in
tersection is practically right-angle
and the corner of the rendering plant
building projects to the paved road
way, without sidewalk or other inter-
vening open space. 1t is most dam
gerous condition
The proposed new airport bypass
road also would eliminate the need
for the dangerous right-angle at the
rendering plant, Mr.. Woodward said.
1t would leave U. S. No. l at Wash
1ngton Airport, following the old
street railway right of way along the
edge of the airport and then circling
between the airport and the group of
factory buildings along Columbia Pike
to connect with Columbia Pike.
Quicker to Bridge.
''This road would enable traffic
from the western and southern parts
of Arlington County to reach High
way Bridge more quickly, avoiding the
old dangerous corner as well as pass
ing the airport safely, not to mention
the avoidance of the unSightly and
malodorous factory neighborhood," :"
Woodward explained.
THE not distant future of Airing
ton County involves a large city pop
ulation in the southwestern portion of
this county of 10000 or more, who
must reach Washington conveniently,
and this will be through an area
which now has no properly planned
highways leading to the bridgeheads.
Some of this traffic will come from
the direction of the seminary west OF
Alexandria. Much of it will develop
in the area between Seminary and
Baileys Cross Roads and along the
Little River turnpike, between Alex
1andria and Fairfax Court House. The
airport road route will be most i'm
portant to this future traffic, as 1t is
now to a large body of traffic from
the same general directions originat-
ing principally in Arlington, Alcova,
Bancroft, Glen Carlyn, Lyon Park,
Arlington Ridge, Oak Crest, Aurora
Hills and Virginia Highlands, Jeffer-
son Park, Mount Ida, Braddock and
sRosemont"
There already is need for better
access from Virginia Highlands and
Aurora Hills, Mr.. Woodward said, and
the proposed connection from Mount
Vernon Boulevard, near Abingdon,
where O half clover-leaf already has
been built, connecting with No. and
Columbia pike, is intended to meet
this need. The new road, he said,
would be in line with Frazier avenue,
NOW Twenty-third street, and pre-
sents no difficult engineering, as the
railroad tracks which will have to be
crossed already are below grade.
/ 'It is most desirable to see this
work inauglrated at this time because
ell OF the rights of way required under
the proposed plan are vacant ground
and the abandoned rights of way of
the two electric railways can be used
In part" Mr.. Woodward explained.
Pike Widening Considered.
EThe county is considering the
widening Of Columbia pike, which is
urgently needed. Necessity of widen
ing the pike from Long Branch to
route No. l., however, would be
ohviated under the new plan and the
amount so saved would 90 O long way
toward paying the cost of the con-
Lection with No. / around the air.
pGrt. As this connection could be
tIAde without interference Of trafic,
&C might cost even less"
- aeaneW n1an. Woodward explaiped,