Evening star., 1935-04-21
CHAIN BRIDGE PLAN
IS COAL OF PAR[EY
Conference Tuesday to Try
to Settle Differences
of Opinion.

Efforts to work out program for
replacement of Chain Bridge. which
will meet with unanimous approval OF
interested District and Virginia groups,
will be made at a conference In the
office Of Engineer Commissioner Sui
tan at 1890 am. Tuesday.
The conference was decided upon as
a result of meeting Friday in the Of
flee Of Representative Howard w.
Smith Of Virginia, at which consider
able difference of opinion upon the
merits of the high and low level bridge
proposals arose. There also we're diff
ferences of opinion over routes to the
bridge and the means of financing
the project.
The group which will confer with
Col. Sultan Is fact-flnding commit
tee appointed by the representatives
attending Fridays conference with
Judge Smith. The committee was re-
quested to obtain information as to all
phases of the bridge problem and to
study all official recommendations
which have been made.
Personnel OF C0mmfttee.
The committee is composed of
George C. Shinn, Clyde B. Bailey;
Capt. Ellis R. King, DR.. Llewellyn Jor-
dan, Representative Smith and Jesse
c. Suter. Capt. H. C. Whitehurst will
cooperate as the representative Of the
District Commissioners.
The meeting in Judge Smiths office
Friday was informal and opened with
statement by Capt. Whitehurst. in
which he explained that the District
Commissioners favored rebuilding Of
the superstructure of the present
Chain Bridge. including repairs to the
existing piers and improvement Of
the approach from Canal road. This
construction, he said, would cost about
s350,000 and could be carried in the
Districts annual appropriation bill.
The Commissioners believe, White
hurst said, that this reconstruction
project would serve every purpose in
Sofar as the District is concerned. The
Commissioners, he said. can see no
justification, from a District stand
point, for the building of a costly
high-level bridge at or near the Chain
Bridge location.
Virginia Wants Replacement.
Virginia representatives at the meet
ing also agreed as to the need for
the earliest possible replacement Of
the present bridge, holding that the
proposed high-level bridge is a prof.
ect TO be considered for the future.
They held out no hope that Airing
ton and Fairfax Counties would
share in the cost of the bridge and ex-
pressed doubt that the State Of Vir.
ginia would contribute.
A delegation from the Conduit Road
Citizens Association strongly urged
the high-level bridge program advo-
Gated by the National Capital Park
and Planning Commission. They
voiced the opinion that any money
spent for replacement of the bridge
on the present piers would be wasted
and would serve to delay the neces-
Sary construction of a high-levcl
bridge.
The Conduit road delegation also
pointed out the value of a high-level
bridge as means of by-passing
through traffic around Washington.
In this connection, Capt Whitehurst
said that a bridge serving as such
a bypass link should be in an entirely
different location because OF the tor
tuous grades In the route to the Chain
Bridge site.
Truck Traffic Seen.
He voiced the opinion that traffic
over such a bypass route would con-
sist largely of heavy freight trucks,
Objectionable to the residential sec
tions through which they would pass
from the Chain Bridge area. He said
any such bypass should be located
at least 10 miles beyond the District
The position of the Federation Of
Citizens Associations, as stated by
Suter, was one of approving the high
level bridge project as a Federal un-
dertaking and without any cost to
the District of Columbia. even for a
survey and plans. He stated that he
was aware of no official action Of
the federation regarding the mere re-
placement of the bridge at its present
location and on existing piers.
Shinn, chairman of the Committee
on Bridges of the Board of Trade,
stated that the Board of Trade has
long advocated a new Chain Bridge.
They are not particular as to whether
the bridge be merely replacement
or the more pretentious structure pro-
posed for the high-level location.