Evening star., 1950-03-14
Grant Criticizes
.CityHeads' Effort
On BridgeSite
Says Anocostio Spon
On E. Capitol Street
Would ImperiI Area
By Harold B. Rooers

The proposed East Capitol street
bridge over the Anacostia River
was attacked and defended today
as the battle of the bridges" con-
tinued before a House District
subcommittee.
Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant III. for
mer chairman of the National
Capital Park and Planning Com
mission. sharply criticized the
District Commissioners for their
attempt to get congressional ap-
proval of the East Capitol street
crossing.
Gen. Grant charged that aban-
donment of the long planned
sports center at the foot of East
Capitol street as recently recon-
mended by Engineer Commission
er Gordon r. Young would do
'irreparable damage" to the
Metropolitan Area.
Traffic Congestion Feared.
Testifying as an official of the
American Planning and Civic AS
ISOLATION, Gen. Grant joined pre-
vious planning officials in their
strong opposition to the pending
bill for the East Capitol street
site.
A bridge over the river there. he
told the subcommittee, would pour
so much traffic into B street Sc.
and B street NE. that congestion
on these streets passing the Capt.
tol grounds would become 'intol-
erable." He predicted that this
situation might become so bad on
Capitol Hill that Congress might
be asked for Federal money to
help build tunnels in the line of
Independence and Constitution
avenues to carry the overflow un-
derground into the B streets east.
Unqualified support of the bill.
sponsored by Representative Beall.
Republican. of Maryland and Rep
resentative Sasscer, Democrat, OF
Maryland, was registered by the
Washington Board of Trade
through its secretary, William H.
Press.
Statement Read to Committee.
He read to the committee .
statement by the boards high
way committee, which had been
approved by the executive CON-
n1ittee of the trade body. This
supported the EastsC Capitol street
site as the best river crossing to
meet present and future traffic
demands and outlined several rea-
sons why it was better than the
proposed Massachusetts, avenue
bridge site recommended by the
planning commission staff.
DR.. F.. P. Cullinan Of the De-
partment of Agriculture filed with
the committee proposed amend
ment to the pending bill which
would guarantee that no public
highway could be run through the
National Arboretum. He said the
amendment was asked by Acting
Secretary of Agriculture K. T.
Hutchinson. ...
Concurring in this recommen-
dation was Frederic P. Lee of Be-
thesda, Md, chairman of the Ma
tional Arboretum Advisory Coun-
Gil. ,-..t,
Precedent Is Feared.
Gen. Grant made an elaborate
presentation to the subcommittee
to support his opposition to the
pending legislation. He warned
that for Congress to enact the bill
would prove a precedent for every
agency who objects to recon-
mendations of the National Park
and Planning Commission.
Attacking the estimates of cost
for the East Capitol Street Bridge.
recently presented at previous
hearing, Gen. Grant said they
cannot be taken seriously.
He cited the District Highway
Departments preliminary esti-
mates for the Dupont Circle un-
derpass, the new Fourteenth street
bridge and the South Capitol
street bridge in support of this
contention.
Gen. Young was wrong in his
prediction that there would be in
sufficient parking space for auto
mobiles at the sports center, Gen.
Grant told the committee. He
said there would be room for about
$4,000 cars. sufficient to accom-
modate the people expected to at
tend big events there. ~.s
The hearing will resume at 10
a m. tomorrow.