Evening star., 1951-11-14
Frederick Superqw Nowhere Most Motorists Don't Exists
By George Kennedy


that would carry Metropolitan
traffic around Bethesda and Rock
willie. But when is very uncertain.
You could drive to Frederick so
times and never realize that, to
your left. one of the finest high
ways IN the Nation is under con-
struction-part of it already
paved.
While it parallels Route 240, the
Frederick pike, and often comes
close to it, the new highway can
not be seen by motorists bound
for Frederick, and most of them
probably are unaware of its exist
ence.
One farmer who lives nearby
described it as "a superhighway
that starts nowhere and goes no
where"
What's more. engineers say the
road is deteriorating from lack of
use.
The road can be seen from a
Iplane-two parallel black strips
of macadam lying across the open
fields. And it can be driven over,
with special permission. but at
present it does not connect with
any other road.
This reporter rode over it the
other day with Donald S. Brown,
an engineer for the Maryland
State Roads Commission. We
started from the north end Of the
construction at Route Is. Route
Is is the highway from Frederick
to Leesburg, Va. via the Point of
Rocks Bridge. The new highway
crosses it on an overhead bridge
a short distance from the Y one
encounters when coming back to
Washington from Frederick, 240
to the left and Is to the right.
Clover-Leaf Planned.
The new highway crosses Is on
the bridge but goes no farther.
Eventually clover-leaf approach
to the bridge will be built con-
Meeting the new highway with IS.
A bypass west of Frederick to
connect the new highway with
Route 40 and Route Is north of
the city is proposed but is not yet
in the planning stage.
The new highway has a long
way to go to reach Washington
and the time element may be
longer than the distance. It is
being built out of income (gaso-
line tax, etc. and portions allot-
ted to it from $10Q million
bond issue for the entire
State road program. II all the
money necessary were made avail
able at once through a special
appropriation, 1t would not take
long to complete it. 1t was started
two years ago. No target date
for its completion has been set.
The road was started at Fred
erick because authorities could not
reach an agreement on the route
for a northwest freeway" en-
trance into Washington.
| We rolled south on the new
highway to a bridge crossing the
B. & o. tracks. For about 1000
feet, between this bridge and the
much larger bridge crossing the
Monocacy River. the highway is
graded but unpaved. 1t may be
paved this winter. if the weather
permits, Mr.. Brown said.
This part of the highway has
been constructed at a cost of
about 81 million a mile. Much
of the cost is attributed to ,the
bridges.
The authorized cost of the in
jtersection with Route Is is S392,-
262. The bridge over the B. & o.
tracks is authorized at $173,271
and the bridge across the Mo-
nocacy at S876.510.
Jersey Turnpike Costs More.
One million dollars a mile
sounds high. But the New Jersey
Turnpike, Of similar construction,
now approaching completion, cost
$1.75 million a mile. The aver
age was raised by the northern
portion. through urban centersI
and across rivers, which cost So
million a mile.
The Monocacy crossing is really
two bridges, each with a 3O-foot
lane. 1t is completed-the spans
paved-but as a bulldozer was still
pushing away a small mountain
of earth left across the approach,
we went down into the valley and
crossed on an earthen causeway.
Il tell you one thing" said Mr..
Brown with conviction. When
we get this finished there won't be
a more beautiful highway in the
country"
One was inclined to agree with
him. 1t looks every bit as good as
the Shirley highway, the Merritt
parkway, or the Pennsylvania or
new New Jersey turnpike.
Limited Access Type.
Like those superhighways, this
one is of the limited access type.
The first crossing affording exit
and entrance is the crossing of
Route 80 near Urbana, 4.6 miles
south of Route Is. The others,
On the route already planned, will
be at the Firetower road near Hy-
attstoWn, at the Comus road near
Clarksburg and at the German
town road intersection. Further
lnterchanges as the road ap-
proaches Washington have not
been determined.
One of the expenses of building
this type of road is constructing
roads to reach farms that have
been cut off by the new highway.
MIR. Brown pointed to one that
seemed a quarter of a mile long.
The complex construction where
| the highway crosses the Firetouar