Evening star., 1942-04-28
Priorities Bar
Completion Of
Heating Plant
Work on Federol
Project to Halt
About July !

Because steel is considered more
important for battleShips than Tor
the new Government heating plant
now under construction in George
town, along Rock Creek at the G. 10
o. Canal, the War Production Board
has put stop order against the
project. bringing a halt to work
there about July /.
The order will result in leaving
the heating plant only partially An
ished, at a time when the Govern
ment Is erecting many more build
ings In the downtown area TO house
war-swollen offices. New Govern.
ment dormitories for single war
workers also are under considera-
ton and are To be built soon.
1898 Plant Burdened.
Heat for the downtown Govern
ment buildings now comes mostly
from the so-called Central Heating
Plant at Thirteenth and @ streets
S.W.. which was finished in 1888.
When that plant was opened it
served SIS buildings, but with war
expansion of the Capital the de-
mands on 1t have gone up more than
200 per cent and 1t is now serving
more than 100 buildings with heat.
Asked about how much more heat
could be furnished by this present
plant, one official remarked:
IF 1t had been a real cold winter
last season some Government work.
ers would have gone cold"
In other words. experts feel that
the present system Is geared TO pro-
vide Just about enough heat for the
present buildings, but IL more struc-
lures are to be added to the steam
lines for more heat IL probably will
overtax the capacity OF the plant
during severe weather. If break
down should occur at the single
plant now supplying heat there
might be a serious situation next
winter In this center of the Nations
war planning.
Concrete Piles Poured.
At the site of the proposed new
plant most of the excavation has
been finished. About $500 concrete
piles have been placed deep in the
ground and concrete mats" REIN
forced by steel rods have been
poured over the tops of these piles,
for the most part, to support the
superstructure of the building. Sea-
walls are being built along the
G. dz o. Canal and along Rock Greek
out OF "rubble" stone to match the
architecture of the nearby overpass,
which carries X street over Rock
Creek at the modified vehicglar
cloyerleaf grade separation.
A heavy retaining wall also is
being built along Twenty-ninth
street from X street northward to
the canal. In the center of the
site q huge, recently constructed
Rock Creek diversion sewer runs
like giant tunnel, about IL or IS
feet high, and the new heating
plant islto be built over the top OF
that. These things cornplicate the
construction job.
~s~ov AOus Oh Steel.
BY July /, however. IL is believed
that the seawalls, retaining walls
and concrete floor of the coal yard
at the corner of Twenty-ninth and
X streets will be completed. Then
the temporary sbacks housing con-
structionS offices now along Twenty
ninth street can be moved to the
floor of the new coal yard and the
job left incomplete. 1t could be re-
sumed from that point whenever the
Government decides to allow about
200 tons of structurel steel to be
used to finish the building accord
ing to specifications.
A big steam tunnel also Is being
built now to connect the new heat
ing plant with steam lines at the
new War Department, at Twenty
first street and Virginia avenue
NV. Part of this tunnel already
has been completed under the con-
tract awarded for 81 .091 900 award
ed to s. z. Dockstader. The con-
tract price, however, includes steam
pipe, which also Is prohibited at this
time by w. p. B.
Contract for the heating plant is
in the hands of the Charles H.
Tompkins Co.. contractor, In the
sum of 81 ,900,0 900.
Allaying fears of some George
town residents that the heating
plant might blanket that section
with smoke and cinders, it was ex-
planned that the coal-burning plant
viii be equipped with an electrical
precipitation" which viii prevent
anything from coming out the
smoke stacks but slight vapor."