Evening star., 1939-08-13
Rock Creek Bridge
Plans 10 Be Given 10.
DC. Heads This Week
$3.50, 900 Span at Line Of
Massachusetts Avenue
To Relieve BottIeneck

Massachusetts, Avenue
To Relieve BottIeneck
Plans for the construction Of q
$550,00O bridge over Rock Greek at
the line of Massachusetts avenue
N. w. are to be submitted to the
Commissioners this week by High
way Director H. C. Waitehurst, as
a final solution of the bottleneck
in the Rock Greek and Potomac
Parkway drive at this important
point.
An authorization for this develop
ment, together with funds, were in
cluded in the 1910 budget for the
District. approved at the last session
Of Congress.
Tentative plans were revealed by
Capt. Whitehurst as it became
known that the District has awarded
contracts for most of the items in
a $1,12o,oOo program Of highway i'm
provements here this year under
the Federal aid program. The cost
will be split $3.50 between the Fed
eral and the District Governments.
Plans for the new bridge are to be
reviewed by the District Commis-
sioners, the Park and Planning
Commission, the Fine Arts Commits
sion and the National Parks Serv-
ice.
Present plans call for a structure
of rubble stone with granite trim,
which would provide 40-foot road
way under Massachusetts avenue,
with footway and a bride path.
The arch of the span would be $50
feet across at ground level, IS feet
high and the bridge would have a
length Of $40 feet and roadway Of
80 feet and two 10-foot sidewalks
on Massachusetts, avenue.
Det0ur to Be Built.
To avoid stoppage of traffic dur
ing construction, the contractor
would be required to erect three
lane detour trestle along Massacl1u-
setts avenue and while the new span
was being erected above the park
way road the parkway road could
be used, officials said, except when
the old portion of the span, along
the creek, was being replaced.
Eighteen different street improve
ments in the District are being
made this year under the Federal
aid program. Most of these now are
under contract.
Three OF the most important, all
related to the elimination of the
Bates road railroad grade crossing
over the Baltimore &, Ohio Railroad
by the construction of a viaduct at
Iaylor street NE, are the following:
The paving of Hawaii avenue NE.
between Taylor street and North
Capitol street and North Capitol
street from Hawaii avenue to Far
ragut place, Blair road from North
Capitol street to Peabody street. and
the approaches to the Taylor street
overpass.
Other Projects.
Other items in the Federal aid list.
for which contracts have been let.
are The widening of Third street
NV. from D to H streets, the new
paving of Seventeenth street NE.
from E to K streets, the repaving
OF K street NV. between New Jer-
sey avenue and Seventh street, the
new paving of Nichols avenue Sc.
between Fourth and Upsal streets,
the repaving of Massachusetts, ave-
hue NV. between Ninth and Thir-
teenth streets, the new paving of
Seventh street NE. between Frank
lin street and Michigan avenue, the
widening of Seventeenth street NV.
between K street and Rhode Island
avenue, the repaving of Seventeenth
street NV. between Constitution
and New York avenues and new
pavement for Michigan avenue NE.
from Monroe street to Seventh
street.
Other jobs on the list call for
paving of Minnesota avenue NE.
between Twenty-seventh street and
Benning road at a cost of some
S220,000, the widening of Florida
avenue NE. between North Capitol
street and West Virginia avenue.
and the new paving of the follow
Ing: Taylor street NE. from Ha-
waii avenue to Harwood road,
Concord avenue NV. from Third
to Eighth street; Eighteenth street
NE. from Rhode Island avenue to
Montana avenue and approaches to
the Taylor street overpass, and the
widening of Pennsylvania avenue
Sc. from Branch to Alabama ave-
nues
In addition to these projects.
funds were provided for 10 major
street improvements, the entire cost
to be borne by District taxpayers.
Contracts have been awarded for
all these projects. The five most
important call for the Improvement
OF Lincoln road NE. between
Rhode Island avenue and Douglas
street, Montana avenue NE. from
seventeenth street to Rhode Island
avenue, South Dakota avenue NE,
from Eighteenth street to Michigan
avenue, Kennedy street NV. from
Kansas avenue to North CAPITOL
street, and Loughboro road NV.
between Glenbrook road and Con-
dult road.