The Wilmington morning star., 1940-12-05
TRUCK LANE ROUTE
STILL UNSETTLED
City Board To Resume Study
Of Most Suitable Route
At Meeting Today

Failing to reach an agreement yes
terdaY afternoon on a route for the
proposed truck lane i. Wilmington,
the city commissioners recessed un-
til this morning at 10 o'clock when
they will again resume study of the
situation with the hopes of settling
the matter is early as possible.
Earlier in the week the commits
sioners selected a route running on
Third street from the southern city
limits to Dawson street, east on
Dawson to 10th, north on 10th TO
Grace. west on Grace to McRae,
enthusiastically on McCrae to
Ninth and Nixon where South
bound trucks would turn west on
Nixon to the Cape Fear river bridge
and northbound trucks would con-
tinue on the old road leading into
the city from the castle Hayne road.
Objections were raised to this route
because it passes in front of the
Williston Industrial High school and
the Williston Elementary school.
Yesterday morning DR.. A. d. L.
Gilmour, of the First Presbyterian
church, urging that the trucks be
moved off Third street, also urged
that it not be put next to Williston
schools or the Community hospital.
The commissioners again began a
study of a possible truck route and
found the following facts:
Q) The truck route must be
moved off Third street, not because
it is a residential street or a street
of pretty homes, but because gaso-
line if spilled from an overturned
truck on Third street would imme-
diately so through the storm sewers
to the river and cause a terrific
hazard to waterfront and port prop
critics.
C) Because gasoline spilled on any
street from the river to and includ-
ing Sixth street, would follow the
same course, all of these north-south
bound streets are eliminated.
90 In addition streets from the
river front to and including Sixth
street do not have sufficiently
strong bridges across the railroad
cut in the northern section of the
city and the pavement on those
streets is not of the type adapted
to truck traffic.
az Seventh street is not suitable
because most of it is paved with
brick on top OF sand and would not
withstand the truck traffic, certain
sections of the street are TOO mar
row for such traffic and there Is
already a normally heavy north.
south passenger traffic On this
street.
(5) Eighth street is not suitable
as portions Of ii are paved with
materials Wnicn will NOT withstand
truck traffic, It is tea narrow in
sections alld has a blind end where
it runs into Chestnut street, re-
quiring the acquiring of consider
able property at Eighth and Chest
nut streets. This route was favored
by Mayor Cooper despite these OBJ
jections, as he held they could be
overcome.
(6)Ninth street was considered
unsuitable because it runs through
federal property at the Marine
hospital site, it encounters a five
point intersection in the northern
section of the city, it has some
streets paved with brick on top of
sand which would not stand the
heavy traffic and the street is
unpaved from Market to Chestnut
streets.
90 Tenth and 18th streets ap-
pear to be the logical streets from
which to select a route except that
both pass the Williston Industrial
High school and the Williston
Elementary school where 1900 pu-
pills attend school daily. Both pass