Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-10-31
District Mapping
Next Move in
KStreet Project
Highway Office to Ask
Funds in 81 to
Complete Freewoy


District highway officials are get
ting ready to carry out the next
step in the .long-range plan for con-
verting K street into an east-west
arterial highway.
Highway Director j. N. Robert
son said last night he hopes to get
the money in the 1851 fiscal budget
for improving K street between
Twenty-first and Twenty eighth
streets NV. When that money be-
comes available, the Whitehursti
Freeway-K street elevated highway
from Rock Greek Park to Key
Bridge-should be completed and
in service.
BY the 1852 fiscal year, Mr.. Rob-
ertson said, the District should be
ready to begin work on the Wash
tngton Circle underpass-next I'M
derpaSs project on the list after
Dupont Circle. Engineer Commits
sioner Gordon r. Young said the
$1,000 ,000-plus Washington Circle
underpass should be considerably
less complicated than the Dupont
Circle depressed highway now under
construction.
Underground Roadway Planned.
Under tentative. plans, the Penn
sylvania avenue streetcars would
remain above ground while the K
street traffic roadway would 90
underground in its present east
west direction.
Carrying the program further,
District officials are already consid-
ering several plans for another I'M
derpaSs-part of the overall K
street plan-to be built at Mount
Vernon Square.
K street definitely will 60 under
ground at Mount Vernon Square,
which is largely occupied by the
main library building. But several
other streets feed into the square,
as do two Streetcar lines, and Dis
trict officials are nowhere near a
solution of the question of low to
lay out the other streets in con-
nection with the underpass.
The other streets involved are
New York avenue, Massachusetts,
avenue, Ninth street, Eighth street,
Seventh street and Mount Vernon
place. Then there is the Seventh
street north-south carline and the
Benning carline travelling east and
west on New York avenue, K street
ard Massachusetts, avenue.
Plan Calls for Ramps.
One plan would leave New York
avenue and Massachusetts avenue
en- the surface virtually unchanged
east of the square and would have
them cross Seventh and Ninth
streets at the present grade.
West OF the square, ingresS and
egress ramps on both New York
avenue and Massachusetts, avenue
would provide interchanges with
the depressed K street for east
bound traffic from New York avenue
and Massachusetts, avenue to K
street traffic to the same avenues.
Surface trafic at the square would
be channelized. ......
The plan would send west-bound
traffic from the depressed K street
highway into selected exit lane to
emerge on the surface of New York
avenue K street or Massachusetts
avenue. The only change contem-
plated in New York avenue east of
the square, under this plan, would
be the 12-feet widening immedi-
ately east of Seventh street to &C.
commodate an additional lane for
traffic making a right turn at
Seventh.
West Of the square, New York
avenue is 100 feet wide, which is
sufficient to permit construction of
two lane roadways on each side
OF the ramp entrances and exits
which would occupy the central
portion of the street.
Other Changes Involved.
Changes would not be required
for Seventh, Eighth and Ninth
streets. Changes would be neces-
sary, however, in K street west of
Mt. Vernon Square to permit con-
struction of the ramp entrances
and exits which would occupy the
block between Ninth and Tenth
streets.
Another plan, great deal more
expensive than the first, would send
the central portion of New York
and Massachusetts, avenues, and K
street under Mount Vernon Square
Tentative plans cali for depressing
K street eastward from the square
to Sixth street NE. in a two-lane
highway. 1t would emerge to the
surface at Sixth street.
Eastward to Sixth street NE, K
street would occupy an open cut
beneath the surface except where it
would pass beneath existing cross
streets and a tunnel under the
Washington Terminal tracks. En-
trance and exit ramps would be pro-
vided to connect the depressed dual
lane highways with certain inter-
secting streets.
Both Mr.. Robertson and Gen.
Young emphasized that those por-,
lions of the K street plan beyond the
Washington Circle phase are still
in the planning stage and subject
to change.