Evening star., 1937-03-25
CITY HEADS SEEK
FUNDS TO PROJECT
K STREET V|ADUCT
Dupont Subway and Thomas
Circle Change Money
Also Desired.
COMMISSIONERS BACK
PROPOSALS INFORMALLY
No Hope Held for Appropriation
for Construction During Next
Fiscal Year.
Funds for drafting of detailed speci-

FUNDS Tor drafting OF detailed SpeC1.
flcations for the proposed K street
traffic viaduct as bypass for
Georgetown, construction of a street
car subway fo- Dupont Circle and for
revamping Thomas Circle are being
sought in the 1888 District budget by
the Commissioners.
This was made known today as
municipal engineers were completing
preparation of estimates of the costs
Of long list of engineer plans for
the relief of traffic congestion, which
are to be forwarded in a day or two
to the House
The Commissioners informally have
given approval to proposals prepared
by Capt. H. c. Whitehurst, District
highway director, for the three prof.
ects. Specifically, they hope Congress
will include in the 1888 budget an
item Of $50 900 for preparation of de-
tailed plans.
No Hope Of Building Funds.
There is no hope of obtaining con-
struction funds for the projects during
the next year, due to the financial
crisis now facing the District, officials
say. The three alone would cost more
than s1,7oO,oOo.
The total list of suggested traffic en-
gineering plans has an aggregate total
cost of more than slO,OO0,OOO They
were suggested as a five-year program,
but District engineers have questioned
the value of some Of the items.
Col. Dan I. Sultan, Engineer Com
missioner, has sponsored the K street
viaduct as the most important and
urgent item in the whole tentative pro-
gram. He places the Dupont Circle
street car subway and the suggested
new treatment for Thomas Circle in
second and third places.
The viaduct is intended to relieve
congestion of traffic which prevails
throughout the day along Pennsyl-
vania avenue and M street, in the
Georgetown area. Since the opening
Of the Rock Creek and Potomac Park
way the congestion at its intersection
with K street also has caused q food
Of protests
The viaduct would start just east of
TWenty-seventh street and pass over
both the parkway and Rock Greek.
II would be carried up K street and
Water street, passing under Key
Bridge. On the line of Thirty-sixth
street, there would be ramp up to
M street so that Virginia bound cars
could swing onto the bridge without
crossing traffic lanes.
There also would be ramp building
to the east of the bridge so that in
bound traffic could swing down on tho
elevated traffic bypass without ira
versing M street.
Cost Put at S1,43O,O00.
The cost Of this project is estimated
roughly at sl,430,OOO. 1t has been Sc
lected in preference to proposal to
build a roadway over the c. G. o. Canal.
The costs and delays of acquiring the
canal property, officials find, make that
plan undesirable
The Dupont Circle subway plan has
an estimated cost of some S3O0,000.
Street tracks now are laid only on the
west side Of the circle, causing north
bound cars to go counter to vehicular
movements. The alternative to the
subway, officials say, would be to lay
street car tracks for northbound cars
around the east side of the circle.
The plan would not require any
major changes to the circle. officials
say, other than to take off Is feet Of
the circular park to permit widening
Of the vehicular roadway. The curb
lines around the outside of the road
way would be set back at many points
and several small "directional islands"
would be built to guide traffic.
The Thomas Circle plan. estimated
to cost some 100000, would call for
running both street cars and yehicular
traffic through what is now the cir
cular park, but it would leave intact
the Thomas statue and streamlined
park about its base. There would re-
main also the sectors of the present
circle on the east and west sides.