Evening star., 1946-12-08

An attempt to push two major
parkway projects here in the new
Congress is virtually certain, The
Star learned yesterday.
One is the long awaited Balti-
more Washington parkway, de-
signed to relieve the congested q. S.
Route /. The other is the George
Washington Memorial parkway, a
scenic drive planned to follow both
banks Of the Potomac from Great
Falls to Mt. Vernon and to provide
new route into the Capital for
pleasure cars from the southeast
and northwest.
Both Thomas II. Macdonald, COM
missioner OF public roads, and A. E.
Demaray, associate director OF the
National Park Service, said they
hoped to obtain legislation trans
ferring the Washington Fort Meade
section of the Baltimore Washing
ton project to the National Park
Service as national parkway, plus
an appropriation of national park
way construction funds in which 1t
would share.
From Mr.. Demaray came word
that his organization, which already
is the development agency for the
George Washington project, prob
ably will ask that money be in
cluded in the national parkway
fund to start work on the Cabin
john Great Falls section of the pro-
posed superroad.
ALLEGATION of Funds.
Appropriations for national park
ways, which now include the Blue
Ridge, Natchez Trace and Foothills
Parkways In addition to the George
washington, are made in lump sum
in the Interior Department appro-
priation act and are allocated to the
various parkway projects by the
park service.
The Public Roads Administration
is at present responsible for the
Baltimore Washington project, at
least as far as the eastern end of
Fort Meade in Maryland With ST.
100000 of leftover public works
funds which were turned over to it
by President Roosevelt, it has pllr-
chased or obtained transfers of Gov
ernment land for the right of way
from the District line near Bladens-
burg to Fort Meade.
This sum, some of which has gone
into grading about 10 of the Is miles
on the Washington end of the park
way, is about gone.
Mr.. Mcdonald said yesterday that
he and the National Park Service
agreed that the next move would
be to transfer the project to the
park service for further development
and that he believed the next ses-
sion of Congress would be the time
to do it.
Government Word Awaited.
Mr.. Demaray expressed the same
opinion, adding that passage of such
"a bill would enable his agency to
seek construction money in the ma
tidnal parkway fund.
& Mr.. Macdonald Said the section
of the parkway from Fort Meade to
Baltimore was .still largely in the
planning stage, partly because
Maryland officials were awaiting
the Federal Governments decision
on what to do with the Washington
Fort Meade section.
Maryland viii receive Federal aid
for its section Of the highway. Mr..
Macdonald explained.
Both officials said agreement had
ben reached on the use of the park
way. Some commercial traffic will
be permitted, they said-buses and
a limited number of light trucks
which win be allowed to use the
parkway under special permits to
serve adjoining property.
When completed the parkway will
enter the District through Ar1acostia
Park and connect with B street NE.
The latter street is to be widened to
form an extension OF Constitution
avenue.
First Maryland Section.
The Cabin john Great Falls sec
tion of the George Washington
parkway will be- the first Maryland
section Of the road to be built. First
section built was the Mount Vernon
Memorial highway and its extension
under Key Bridge.
Money is now on hand to extend