Evening star., 1949-10-02
Whtehurst's Dream Freewoy
Will Be Dedicated Saturday
Bv WiIIiom 4. MiIIen

By WiIIiom A. MiIlen
The Whitehurst Freeway will be
dedicated at 2 pm. Saturday,
bringing to reality the traffic
dream of the late H. c. White
hun District director of high
ways.
Capt. Whitehurst envisioned the
X street viaduct as vital link
in an improved traffic network
for Washington. This program
includes K street as the main
downtown East-West highway,
connecting in the future with the
new Washington Baltimore park
way on the east and the Arizona
avenue Freeway on the west.s
An underpass at Washington
Circle in the line Of K street is
another phase OF the program be-
ing considered.
Capt. Whitehurst's widow will
be at the dedication Saturday and
his 4-year-old granddaughter,
Maria Whitehurst Brownette, will
cut the ribbon to open the new
freeway.
DELAYED by War.
Long before the war. Capt
Whitehurst realized the serious
ness of the Georgetown trafnc
snarl and made plans to build
the K street elevated highway
The war stalled the plans and IN
September of 1948 Capt. White
hurst died.
As soon as the Whitehurst Free
way is opened, the planning Sec
tfon of the District Highway De-
partment will begin traffic
count, both on M street in George
town and the freeway. as we'll as
on nearby Pennsylvania avenue
and Washington Circle, to deter
mine the effect of the new prof
ect on traffic in the west end OF
the city.
The Whitel1urst FreeWay !!
about a mile long. running from
the Key Bridge to Rock Creek
It is Washington's first elevated
motorway. It is drivers dream
with not a traffic light in sight
It is considered the last word ir
modern traffic engineering.
The project has been under con-
struction since July 7, 1947. 1t cost
So 400. 900, half paid by the Fed
eral Government under the road.
aid program. through the Bureau
of Public Roads. 1t is designed te
speed traffic to and from down
town Washington through George.
town to Maryland and Virginia
l. It has been built to hold maximum
highway loads ~ automobiles
buses and trucks. as we'll as win
tertime loads Of snow and Ice.
Will Ease M Street Traffic.
Oficials estimate it will carry
three-fourths of the $4,000 We
hicles daily that now use the con-
gested M street route through
GEORGETOWN. competing with Cap.
ital Transit Co. streetcars ane
Virginia buses.
The Whitehurst Freeway has a
cloverleaf arrangement at each
end, designed for an easy flow o1
traffic in and out. of Rock Greek
valley, Key Bridge and M street
The main structure rises to
height of As feet above the Po-
tomac waterfront in Georgetown
but goes up to a height of so feet
at the west end. The ramp down
from Key Bridge to the Freeway
is 10 feet high. The Freeway will
make easier access to Canal road
which has been widened as part OF
the project to Foxhall road, Mac
Arthur boulevard and other traffic
arteries, including Chain Bridge
District officials contend the
Whitehurst Freeway, in taking
traffic of M street, will not seri-
ously affect the merchants Of
Georgetown. For they say that
those who want to shop On M
street will be able to find park
ing space there more easily.
Into the Freeway went 5000
tons of structural steel and 1,00C
tons of reinforcing steel. a..
Justement Consulted.
While the project was started
under Capt. Whitehurst. 1t has
been carried forward since his
death under direction of District