Evening star., 1949-11-06
Regional Highway Problems


which confront the fast-growing Wash
ington Metropolitan Area were presented
in impressive form at the meeting here
of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
The problems are of such mutual, inter-
locking nature as to require mutual study
and action by the various Jurisdictions
involved, If they are ever to be solved
satisfactorily. And the studies already
made justify the increasing demand for
more Federal assistance, for the problems
are largely Of Federal origin.
S. r. Harrison, deputy director of high
ways for the District, told the society that
about so per cent of all traffic crossing
District boundaries consists of Maryland
and Virginia cars from Washington's sub
urbs. The ebb and flow of traffic from
nearby areas, he pointed out, are related
for the most part to the business of the
Federal Government. The District Mary
land and Virginia are struggling within
their budgetary limitations to meet the
strains thus imposed on their road and
other facilities.
Because they have common problem,
the District, Maryland and Virginia are
needs OF the entire Metropolitan Area.
They have joined In a comprehensive
origin and destination survey to determine
where the chief bottlenecks are and what
should be done to eliminate them. The
picture as revealed so far is dark one.
The District needs many costly improve
ments, including arterial highways, grade
separations and additional bridges across
the Potomac and the Anacostia Rivers.
William F. Childs, chief engineer of the
Maryland State Roads Commission, says
that it would take $4s, 100000 to modernize
125 miles Of State roads lying within the
Metropolitan Area-an unreasonable sum
to allot to section containing only 80
per cent of the States highway system.
c. S. Mullen, chief engineer of the Virginia
Highway Division, told the society 1t would
take forty years, at the present rate of
improvement, to meet highway needs in
Virginia's portion Of the Metropolitan
Area. .,-...
At present, the District has borne the
chief burden Of providing bridges across
the Potomac River. This Is because, TECH
nically, the river as far as the Virginia
shore Is in District jurisdiction. But Is 1t
fair to impose the cost of future bridges
on the District merely because the water
flowing beneath them is in District terri
tory? The origin-and destination survey
has shown that much of the traffic over
the Potomac bridges originates in nearly
Virginia. Most Of the trafiic over the
Fourteenth Street and Memorial Bridges
is on some sort OF Government business.
Should District citizens, alone, bear the
cost of the proposed bridge to Alexandria
or Of other new spans to serve the Federal
buildings and the Virginia communities
across the river?
These are among the questions which
will grow larger as the Metropolitan Area
continues to develop. The American So
ciety Of Civil Engineers has helped to
stimulate thinking and action looking to-
ward their eventual solution Out of such
thinking may come agreements for joint
financing and construction Of future
bridges and other mutual improvements,
perhaps under such National Capital
Metropolitan Works Agency as General
Grant has proposed. And the Federal
Government, as deeply interested party,
may find 1t necessary to render greater
financial aid than in the past to hard
pressed local communities making up the
Metropolitan Area.