Evening star., 1949-10-27
Gas Tax Results
Seen With New
Bridges Here
Highway Officials Sci
Dates for Possible
Completion Of Spans

SOiIIPiCtIOii VI SHOuS
The power of the insignificant
penny that goes into the gasoline
tax fund has made possible the
present $18,000,00O bridge-build-
ing program, greatest in the Dis
trict's history, officials said today.
The gas tax here is 4 cents
gallon, which goes to make up
part of the highway fund.
Highway department officials
foresee completion of the new
South Capitol street bridge over
the Anacostia River around the
first of the year. The new Four
teenth street bridge over the Po-
tomac River should be finished
about March /, if the winter is not
too inclement. And the Dupont
Circle underpaSs is slated to be
completed in March. The fourth
of the Districts major projects
under the Bridge Division-the
Whitehurst Freeway, from Rock
Creek to the Key Bridge in
Georgetown, over K street-has
just been completed and placed in
operation.
Jobs Cost Millions.
The FreeWay cost $3,400, 900.
The Dupont Circle underpass cost
is placed at $3,S00,00O. The Four
teenth street bridge, first of two
new Potomac spans to be built,
with the necessary road ap-
proaches. will cost $6,500,0 900. The
bill for the South Capitol street
job will run around $5,000,000.
Unofflcially, it has been said
that the United States Steel Corp,
through its subsidiary. the Ameri-
can Bridge Co., at the South Cap
itol street bridge. and the Bethle-
hem Steel Co., at the Fourteenth
street bridge, were engaged in
friendly rivalry on the job. But
Harry R. Howser. the Districts
engineer of bridges, pointed out
there was not real race, because
there were different factors in
volved.
The American Bridge Co. laid
100000 pounds of steel at South
Capitol street, of which 4,6O0,0G0
pounds were placed over the Ana
costa River. The rest went into
parts of the bridge over land.
Bethlehem laid 100000 pounds
OF steel, all over water, except for
one 80-foot span that arches over
the Speedway in Potomac Park.
The South Capitol Street Bridge
is $3.50 feet long. while Four
teenth street is $500 feet long.
Mr.. Howser pointed out the
Fourteenth street job involved
steel of heavier construction. be-
cause the Fine Arts Commission
requested that the depth 81 the
bridge be reduced to make the
project look like a ribbon of steel
over the Potomac River. The
monumental Arlington Memorial
Bridge is just upstream of the
new Fourteenth street bridge,
which had to conform with it from
an artistic viewpoint.
The South Capitol Street Bridge
is composed of two lines of heavy
girders and the balance is built
of comparatively light steel, Mr..
HoWser explained.
Both of Same Width.
Both bridges have about the
same roadway width. Steel erec-
ton began by Bethlehem in Aug
ust, 1948, and was completed
October /. The American Bridge
Co. began steel erection October
l of last year and took just a
year to finish the job.
Albert B. Greene is the Districts
resident engineer on the Four
teenth Street Bridge. while R.. D.
Wallace is the resident engineer
at South Capitol street.
Bethlehem had to take its steel
down the Potomac Rive. from
Georgetown. where it was un-
loaded from Baltimore g. Ohio
Railroad freight cars. bv barge
to the bridge site. The American
Bridge Co. took it's steel from the
Pennsylvania Railroad cars near
the Sousa Bridge. by barge to the
construction area, where it was
assembled with large floating der
ricks.
with so many bridges going
up at the same time," said Mr..
Howser, "the motorist can feel,
when he is paying his gas tax
that he is really getting something
for his money-and can see the
real results"