Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-07-16
Senators Study
Jones Point
Bridge Accord
But Case Receives
Little Help on Spon
Off New Hampshire
By George Beveridoe

A Senate District subcommit-
tee had under study today over
whelming expressions of support
for a House-passed bill to au-
thorize a new Potomac River
bridge at Jones Point. Alexandria.
But at hearing on Potomac
bridge needs yesterday, Chairman
Case won Scant support for his
proposed new downtown bridge
leading from New Hampshire
avenue NV.
Only District and Arlington
highway officials supported the
Case proposal, which had been
submitted as a compromise in
the dispute over a bridge leading
from E street NV.
The House approved the Alex
andria bridge bill a month ago,
after planners and road builders
failed to agree on the best loca-
ton for a downtown bridge. Dis
trict highway officials argued for
the E street site. The National
Capital Planning Commission led
the fight against E street, pro-
posing an alternate Reaches Run
site, just down river from the
Fourteenth street bridge network.
The picture today-with the
New Hampshire avenue loca-
ton substituted for E street
is virtually the same.
Memorial Officials Opposed.
One Of the strongest strikes
against the New Hampshire
avenue bridge came from the
Theodore Roosevelt Association,
which had opposed the E street
bridge on grounds it would cross
Roosevelt Memorial Island, the
wilderness sanctuary lying near
the Virginia shore.
Senator Case has contended
the New Hampshire avenue
bridge would miss the main part
OF the island, passing over only
a doWnriver piece of land known
as South Island. BY proposing
the bridge be built at low level,
the Senator hoped also to satisfy
complaints that a bridge in that
general area would impair
esthetic values of the Lincoln
Memorial area.
In a letter on behalf of the
Roosevelt association, however,
Director Hermann Hagedorn
said the present proposal is as
objectional as the other
&c street," Noting that South
Island is IAN integral part" Of
the main island, he said
Congress would be guilty of a
breach of trust" in approving
a bridge over the island accepted
by the United States as a wilder
ness memorial.
Asks Decision Be Delayed.
Harland Bartholomew, Ma
tional Capital Planning Com
mission chairman, conceded that
a new downtown bridge is
needed to bring traffic from
the northern portion of the
Virginia side of the Metropolitan
Area to the north side of the
central business area"
But he urged that no action
be taken on the New Hampshire
avenue idea until the next ses-
sion Of Congress, when studies
of the best bridge location can
be completed.
John Nolen, jr., planning COM
mission director, said the traffic
problems, involved in the New
Hampshire avenue project are
essentially the same" as those
posed by the E street bridge.
One of the planners major OBJ
jections has been to the east
west pattern of traffic proposed
in the vicinity of the White
House. They argue that new
bridge traffic should feed direct
ly into the proposed "inner-loop"
network of streets encircling the
congested central area.
Others opposing immediate ap-
prevail of the Case proposal were
Conrad Wirth, National Park
Service director; David Finley.
Fine Arts Commission chairman.
and C. c. Robinson, chairman Of
the Northern Virginia Regional
Planning Commission.
Brig. Gen. Louis w. Prentiss,
District Engineer Commissioner,
Endorsed the New Hampshire
avenue proposal as the next best
thing to the E street bridge. He
was seconded by Clifton G.
Stoneburner, Arlington County
highway engineer.
Representative Broyhill, Re-
publican, of Virginia, author OF
the House-passed Jones Point
bill, urged the Senate unit not
to permit the downtown bridge
argument to endanger the Alex
andria project. While he had
advocated the E street span, he
said, the two serve different
functions and are not alternates
for each another.
Senator Case responded, how
ever, that, since the two are not
competitive, my feeling is that
we ought to proceed with both
bridges"