Evening star., 1954-09-18
Decision Due
On Quick Start
OF Park Route
Court Rejects Move.
To Halt Construction
Of Embottled Project
By George Beveridee

BY George Beveridse
The Maryland Roads Commis-
sion will hold a special meeting
on Monday to decide whether to
push. ahead Immediately with
construction plans for a contro-
versial stretch Of the inter-
county belt freeway through Q
Maryland park section.
There is a strong possibility,
1t was learned, that the commits
sion will vote in the affirmative.
The possibility follows the re-
lection yesterday by the United
States Court Of Appeals Of a
motion seeking to halt construc-
ton Of the belt road until the
court hears a suit challenging the
road.
A group Of property owners
near the Rock Greek Park
stretch between Wisconsin ave-
nue. and Forest Glen are con-
testing the road as an illegal
use of park lands. Their suit
was thrown out of q lower Fed
eral court, and Immediately ap-
pealed.
Deadline for Appeal.
]. j. Barse. attorney for the
property owners, said his brief
for the appeal must be filed by
October Is. Assistant United
States Attorney Oliver Gasch has
Is days to answer it. The mo-
ton rejected yesterday simply
asked for a construction stay
until the appeal is heard.
The roads commission is ex-
pected to be told by attorneys
Monday that the rejection re-
moves legal barriers from the
start of construction, if the COM
mission sees fit.
A bitter wrangle has ragged
over the park use since the road
proposal became firm more than
a year ago. The belt road, in
tended to completely encircle
Washington in Maryland and
Virginia, involves about 2h
miles of park land.
The National Capital Plan
ming Commission has approved
use of the park for the road. to
be built according to an elab-
crate parkway design, which also
calls for 81 million worth of i'm
provements to the park itself.
Legal Use Challenged.
The lawsuit contends the
planning commission exceeded
its authority and that the park
stretch would simply be a link
in what is major highway, in
violation of legal uses for which
the park was intended.
Maryland Roads Commission
Chairman Russell H. Mccain said
planning is well along for the
park stretch and that construc-
ton could get under way fairly
quickly if the legal issue is not
a blocking factor.
In addition to belt freeway
traffic. roads commission off,
cials intend to use a part Of the
park-road section to carry SOUTH
east-bound traffic from the new
Washington national pike (U. S.
Route 240).
Plans for 240 Traffic.
Their idea Is that the 24O
traffic would meet the belt road
west of Wisconsin avenue, travel
about halfway through the park
section and then dip out of the
park to the south. At this point
their plan is that the 240 traffic
would leave the belt road and
continue to East-West highway
near Beach drive on new high
way. The belt road would re-
enter the park and continue in
it to Forest Glen.
The planning commission,
however, in approving the plan.
said it did so with. the under
standing that the belt road
would not serve as the link for
a Route 240 southeast leg.
Informally, at least, Maryland
officials have taken the position
that the planning commissions
authority extends only to the
use of the parkland, and that
connections on non-park prop
erty are outside the planners
jurisdiction.