Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-10-12
They Could Be Wronq Aqoin


Some of the arguments by the staff of the
National Capital Planning Commission against
the Highway Departments plan to build new
Potomac River bridge at street have a ia
miliar ring.
They substantially the same arguments
used by the commission staff in 1915, opposing
the Highway Department plan Eventually ap-
proved by Congress and carried out in part) to
replace the old Fourteenth Street Highway
Bridge by tWo one-way, four-lane bridges. The
planning commission advocated a single six
lane bridge
It is fortunate for the people of the District
and Of Virginia that the Highway Department
won its fight with the planning commission in
1945. The passage of time has produced evil
dence of how wrong the planning commission
was then If it was wrong then, it can be
wrong again. That is why the commissions
arguments against the street location require
analysis by examination and cross examination
before a committee of Congress.
In supporting, in 1915, the Highway De-
partment'S plan for two Fourteenth street
bridges, Thomas H. Macdonald then Commits
sioner of Public Roads, said that the bridge
facility at that point should be designed for a
peak traffic load of 5000 vehicles per hour in
each direction
criticized such a capacity as excessive and I'M
necessary. Their six-lane bridge, they argued
could carry peak load of at least 1000 vehicles
an hour in each direction. That capacity,
General U. S. Grant III testified, was adequate
to meet any demand that can reasonably be
forecast"
Today the new four-lane northbound
bridge is accommodating peak-hour traffic
of over 5000 vehicles; the DID, three-lane south
bound bridge carries over 5000 vehicles an hour
at peak. A single six-lane bridge would have
been prepoSterouSly inadequate.
:, 1t is true that in 1945 the planning COM
mission spokesman were linking their advocacy
of a single, six-lane bridge at Fourteenth
street with proposal for another bridge across
the Potomac at Jones' Point, Alexandria. The
proposed construction of this Alexandria
bridge affected the planners estimates on
Fourteenth Street Bridge. 1t would, no doubt
have decreased the volume of traffic now cross
ing at Fourteenth street. Had the Alexandria
bridge been built, however it would have
created new traffic problems of its own. No
one foreSaw the astonishing development across
the Anacostia River since 1945 An Alexandria
bridge across the Potomac would doubtless
have required another bridge, and another
system of approaches, across the Anacostia
The three Anacostia bridges are handling
capacity traffic now in rush hours. One esti-
mate by highway authorities is that had the
six-lane bridge been built at Fourteenth street.
with bridge at Alexandria, as many as 1000
vehicles a day would have been denied
crossing of the Potomac River during the rush
periods. In other words the six-lane bridge
still would have been wholly inadequate.
The crux of the commissions argument
however was that the two Fourteenth street
bridges, in addition to providing more capacity
,of 4~a1H
into the congested part of the city which the
existing street system cannot absorb"
This traffic was estimated, by Mr.. Mac
Donald, to be about $4,000 vehicles day by
the year 1850 But now in 1858, the flow of
traffic induced" exceeds 100000 vehicles a
day over the Fourteenth street bridges The
changes that have been made in the District
approaches to the Fourteenth street bridges
are absorbing, without excessive congestion,
$4,000 more vehicles per day than the $4,000
that Mr.. Macdonald estimated for 1860.
Estimates of increasing traffic across the
Potomac were incredibly wrong, by both sides.
Traffic engineers everywhere underestimate
traffic growth Fortunately, the Highway De-
partment was far more realistic than the
planning commission in its plans to deal with
future traffic. John Nolen, jr., of the commits
sion, estimated that by 1865 Memorial Bridge
of 400 and 600 vehicles per hour, respectively,
tat peak. The saturation point on both these
bridges was reached this year.
as mfr Nolen was thinking about $1,000 We
hicles day crossing the proposed single, six
lane Fourteenth street bridge in 1865. There
are 100000 vehicles crossing the Fourteenth
street bridges each day now. The eStimatorS
thought the Key, Memorial and Highway
bridges would be carrying about 10000 vehicle
trips every "a hours in 1865 The actual load
today is 100000 every "a hours.
This load is expected to increase from
to per cent year for the next few years.
Every increase will mean longer waits at bridge
approaches. It will require year to plan,
and two years to build, new Potomac River
bridge at street, or anywhere else The COM
mission staff is opposing the E street bridge be-
cause, it argues, the District approaches can
not absorb the load, just as they argued in
1915 that the Fourteenth street approaches
could not absorb a load that was far lighter
than what it turned out to be. The Highway
Department is as confident that the proposed
new street arrangements for the street bridge
can absorb the load as it was confident in 1915
In respect to the Fourteenth street Bridge ap-
proacheS.
AS in 1945, the street location is opposed
by the commission and others on eSthetic
: grounds. In 1915 it was the Jefferson Memorial