Evening star., 1935-09-21
Major Changes in Street
Car Lines to Be Made
by July l, 1886.
ACTION BY COMMISSION
SPEEDS UP SCHEDULE
Transit Company Baked in Pro-
posed Shifts Due to Lack
of Supplies.


track changes approved by the Public
Utilities Commission. y
Revision of previous orders for track
work for key positions in the rerout-
ing plan was agreed to late yesterday
by the commission and the Capital
Transit Co. after lengthy study of
getting materials manufactured and
work installed.
The date fixed for completion of
major items was some six months
later than that for which the COM
mission had been aiming, but was
months ahead of the schedule pro-
posed by the company. The COM
pany's program was moved ahead by
several months at the insistence of
the commission, according to reliable
reports.
The commission last April fixed
December 81 as the dead line for COM
pletion of major items on the re-
routing track change orders, but the
company explained it would be un-
able to have the special track con-
Struction manufactured and installed
by that time.
Work will be hastened, however, as
the result of the conference. Work
will start Monday on special work
at the intersection of Eighteenth
street and Columbia road. 1t is to
be finished about October 7.
The entire cost of rerouting track
work has been estimated at $l,e00,000.
OF this sum, about $500,000 already
has been obligated. This would mean
that some 81 100000 of track work
remains to be done now before next
July l.
1t had been planned to construct a
right turn at this intersection so cars
from the Rock Creek loop could be
sent to the Potomac Park area via
Columbia road and lower Connect
cut avenue. This work was delayed
and may be abandoned because of
sudden decline in this traffic follow
ing substitution of buses for street
car service on Connecticut avenue.
CrOss-over Work to Start.
1t was agreed that work be started
Immediately on construction of a
straight north and south cross-over
at Seventh street and Florida avenue
this to be completed in about seven
weeks. This project will make it pos
sible to send Georgia avenue cars
directly south on Seventh street in
stead of making the loop over Ninth
street and then south
Street car tracks on First street
northeast and southeast, Immediately
east of the Capitol grounds, are to
be moved eastward to the center of
the street. The tracks now are over
the railroad tunnel and are in bad
condition. This is to be started Octo-
ber IA and will require more than 13
weeks for completion.
Construction of a branch-off track
at Seventh and G streets, to permit
cars to turn west into G street from
Seventh street, will be started No
vember / and be finished in about
nine weeks.
Changes in tracks needed for the
loop which will serve the Potomac
Park region will be started sometime
in october and will take many weeks
to be completed. This will provide a
loop down Nineteenth street, east on
Virginia avenue and north on Eight
eenth street to Pennsylvania avenue
New tre ck must be laid on Eighteenth
street between F street and Pennsyl-
vania avenue. There will be special
work also at Eighteenth and Nine
teenth streets and Pennsylvania ave-
nue., construction of a double track
turn on the northeast and northwest
corners Of Seventeenth street and
Pennsylvania avenue and elimination
of the tracks in Seventeenth street be-
tween G street and Pennsylvania ave-
nue..
The key to the major portion of
Eerouting, as affecting downtown
Washington, is track work ordered for
Fifteenth and G, Fifteenth and New
York avenue, Fourteenth street be-
tween New York avenue and H street
and Fourteenth street and Pennsyl-
vania avenue.
This work will be started March 1.
as predicted yesterday by commission
officials. The commission had ordered
the work done by December 81, but
1t was said the materials needed had
not been manufactured.
This work is designed to take the
major kinks out of present routings.
One OF the double sets of tracks in
Fourteenth street, from New York
avenue to H street, is to be eliminated.
One set of tracks in New York ave-
nue. from Fourteenth to Fifteenth
oil f@ - -. Ia
both cases the new tracks are to be
moved to the centers of the streets.
The sub ends of the G street lines
are to be carried into Fifteenth street
to permit connections west into Penn
sylvania avenue. A new double track
branch-of is to be built in the south
east corner of Fourteenth street and
Pennsylvania avenue.
Opens Fourteenth Street.
All this work is designed to permit
cars to be run straight down Four
teenth street to Pennsylvania avenue,
to allow cars to turn eastward there;
to permit G street cars to swing west
along Pennsylvania avenue after pass
ing through new work at Fifteenth
and G streets. This project is to be
started March and be finished June
30
Construction of a new croSs-over
track at Fifth and G streets, to per-
init cars to travel along Fifth street
over G street, is to be started Janu-
ary 1. Also the building of turn
around loop at Third street and In
diana avenue is to be started at the
same time.
A number of other items are sched-
uled, including rebuilding of the sur
fc,ce track along Pennsylvania ave-
nue. between Ninth and Seventeenth
streets southeast.