Evening star., 1942-01-25
|S-kiI|ion QutIayy
For Bridge, Road
rkHereSeen
Whitehurst Predicts
Contracts Will Be
Awarded by August

Awarded by August
The colossal problem faced BY
the District in meeting traffic con-
ditions was illustrated yesterday by
Highway Director H. c. Whitehurst,
when he forecast that by next Au- !
gust 5000, 900 in contracts would 8
be awarded for highway work and =
bridge projects. y
The statement was issued In con- .
nection with approval by the Dis
trict Commissioners of revision OF
the 1943 fiscal year highway est. )
mates, which had been delayed TO
await the 1-cent increase in the !.
District gasoline tax and the latest
Judgment on Federal-aid road work :
here in keeping with the emergency =
program.
The revised program provides ST.
000, 900 for starting construction Of
a $4.500, 900 bridge over the Anacos- #.
tia River on the line of South Cap, .
itol street. which is to connect with
new traffic arteries by-passing Boil n
ing Field, the Naval Air Station and !
other important areas near the /.
southern point of the District. "
Also included in the new program
is a request for $150,000 to cover
the cost of engineering studies and
plans for four large traffic relief
projects outlined in the Whitehurst 2
survey report given to Congress late
last year.
Federal Approval Given. =
Those projects are:
/. A trunk highway to the North.
east from the vicinity of Twelfth
and X streets NV. to Fifteenth
street and Benning road NE, which
includes consideration of suggested
grade separation devices and rout-
ings at or near the old Central
Library Building at Massachusetts,
and New York avenues, Seventh,
Ninth and K streets NV.
2. A trunk highway to the North
west from the vicinity of Connecti-
cut avenue and K street to Twenty
seventh and K streets NV, in
cluding consideration of depressed
highway along the X street line !
between Connecticut avenue and
oath street.
3. A grade separation structure at
Thirteenth and H streets NV.
4. A grade separation structure
for Dupont Circle, similar to de-
velopments now in service at
Thomas and Scott Circles.
In addition, Capt. Whitehurst an
nounced that the District govern
ment had received offlcial approval
of the Public Roads Administration
for four major wartime traffic relief
projects, to be financed jointly by.
the Federal and District govern
ments.
Approved rs Access Routes.
These are the huge grade separa-
ton structure at and near Four
teenth street and Maine avenue
S.W., already under construction,
and three other projects about to
icome out of the planning stage:
Construction of an elevated free
way" along K street NV. between
Rock Creek and Key Bridge; widen
ing and other improvements to
Twenty-third street NV, and ex-
tension of Independence avenue
from Fourteenth street S.W. to Lin
coin Memorial Circle, all of which
are major plans to improve access
to and from the District and Vir-
ginia via Potomac River Bridges.
The Twenty-third street plans en-
vision widening of that artery be-
tween Constitution and Pennsyl-
vania avenues, construction of a
grade separation structure at vir-
ginia avenue NV. and extension of
Twenty-third street between N
street and Massachusetts, ave-
nue. NV.
In this connection. the report of
Capt. Whitehurst, approved by the
Commissioners, states that the four
projects to improve approaches to
the Potomac River bridges have
received approval as access routes
and as such are eligible for defense
highway funds. I'VE have submit
ted all four projects" the report
states, "and requested $3,478, 900 of
access road funds. This amount,
plus the regular Federal aid (pri-
mary for 1943 of s487 900, will pro-
vide for these projects a total of
3,965 900 in Federal funds-the
total cost of which is estimated
to be s6,O00,0O0"
Total Already Reduced.
Under the revised program, some
projects heretofore considered were
withdrawn or delayed and others
were inserted, with the result that
the total now proposed in the Dis
trict highway budget for the next
fiscal year, for street improvements,
is s4,495, 100 or more than 81 ,000, 900
in excess of those submitted to Con-
gress early this month by the
Budget Bureau. However, the 1943
budget total already had been re-.
duced by $1.900,000 in items orig,
inally scheduled for the 1943 fiscal
year, but which were covered in a.
current year emergency appropria-i