Evening star., 1953-05-10
Complicated Bridge Problem

The proposed construction of a huge
apartment layout on the Virginia shore near
Arlington boulevard will complicate plans for
building bridge across the Potomac River on
the general line of E street. At the same time,
the project will increase the urgency of relieving
bottlenecks at the present bridges. Another
bridge in the central area will become even
more necessary than now. In fact, there is
need for not merely one new bridge between
Washington and Virginia, but several.
series of big apartment buildings on the
opposite shore of the river inevitably will be
traffic generator More than zoning and build
ing regulations are involved in considering such
a project. The direct and indirect effects on
traffic in the immediate area and on the District
side Of the Potomac must be studied, with
view to devising adequate means to cope with
the new conditions. Arlington District and
Federal authorities will have to put their heads
together and work out co-ordnated plans for
meeting the problems.
Since the apartments will be built in the
center of a tract through which the District
Highway Department and Arlington County
officials had considered placing approaches to
the proposed E street bridge, the first big
problem to be settled is whether the street
crossing would still be feasible with appropriate
notifications. General Prentiss. District En-
gineer Commissioner, has ordered a study to
cover not only this question but the possibility
of finding another suitable location for
central-area bridge. The street route had
encountered opposition from the National
Capital Planning Commission and the Theodore
Roosevelt Memorial Association. One of the
chief objections was that it would cross one end
of Roosevelt Island, a wildlife sanctuary pro-
tected by the commission and the association.
Perhaps there would be less encrOachment on
the island If the bridge were swung farther
downstream on the Virginia shore, enabling the
approaches there to bypass the new apartments
If the street site turns out to have
insoluble difficulties, some other location be-
tween the Memorial and Key Bridges should
be given careful consideration. For to generate
a new traffic load in that area without pro-
viding the means to carry the traffic across the
river in either direction would be to aggravate
the already nerve-shattering traffic jams during
rush hours on the Fourteenth Street, Memorial
and Key Bridges. Adequate approaches on both
sides of the river would have to be included in
any plan for new central bridge.
While the central bridge seems to merit
priority, crossing structures at Alexandria and
above Key Bridge also are badly needed. 1t has
been argued by some planning officials that
the suggested Alexandria and Nebraska avenue
bridges should be built first, on the ground that
they would relieve the bottlenecks at the exist
ing crossings. But if great apartment de-
velopment rises near Arlington Cemetery, these
arguments will lose much of their force. Resi-
dents of these apartments would want to take
the shortest route to downtown Washington,
and vice versa. Obviously, serious new factor
has appeared in the bridge controversy-one
that will require new studies and new consulta-
tions by the various jurisdctional agencies
concerned. An open-minded, cooperative
attitude by these agencies and their stats will
facilitate an early solution of the vexing
problem.