Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-09-04
.BI|EI|I|ylgGI,,
For Potomac
TO Offered
Arts Commission
Approval Essential
To Eurly Action
By GEORGE BEvERIDGE

District officials hope to get
Federal Fine Arts Commission
Endorsement this week of q new
compromise plan for the pro-
posed Constitution avenue bridge.
Engineer Com missioner
Thomas A. Lane said the plan,
worked out by staff techniciaf1s
fof the District. the National Cap
ital Parks and the National Cap
iital Planning Commission. viii be
explained to fine arts members
at a meeting Wednesday.
The plan proposes the bridge
leave the Washington shore just
Iupriver from Constitution avenue
NV, cross the lower tip OF
Roosevelt Memorial Island and
tie in with major roads on the
Virginia shore.
Arts Approval Required
Fine Arts Commission indorse-
lment would be a crucial step
toward early construction of the
span Congress already has aus
Ithorized. M
Actually. District officials al
ready have money in the current
budget to begin building the
bridge. But existing legislation
requires that it be built between
Arlington Memorial Bridge and
Roosevelt Island - missing the
island itself.
In order to get the bridge out
|of the immediate vicinity of the
Lincoln memorial. thereby mini
lmizing its affect on esthetic
values in that monumental area,
there has been general agree
Iment that the bridge should be
moved upriver - Rcross Roose-
ivelt Island.
| While this step viii require a
change In legislation, officials
lare confident Congress win make
1.-THE change quickly next January
liz agreement on a plan can be
reached between city and Fed
leral officials and the Theodore
, Roosevelt Association, custodians
Iof the controversial island.
Tentative Plan Drawn
Il A tentative plan was drawn by
District highway engineers about
, Ia month ago. But it met oppo-
Isition from Federal park, PLAN
lining and Fine Arts officials. The
!, modified plan to be presented to.
Fine Arts members Wednesday
: lis the result of efforts to offset
! the objections.
One main objection was that
a complex system Of approach
o roads and interchanges ON the
3 Washington side of the river
e what one planner said looked
e like a bowl of spaghetti
should be simplified. Complaints
: were that the proposed system
Y took up too much land, included
= unnecessary traffic lanes and en-
2 icroached on the Lincoln Memo
/ rial area.
The new plan, 1t was under-
ssstood, reduces the approach sys-
Item to a minimum, :" and also
eimoves the bridge about loo feet
|upriver from its original take-
: of point at the end OF Consti-
D tuition avenue.
minor Changes Made
Il Gen Lane conceded that fur
? Their minor changes" might have
2 to be made in the plan. But he
= said he thought it basically car
ries out what we all had in mind
when we agreed to q compro-
mise"
After the Fine Arts Commits
!, sion gives It's reaction to 1.-The
! plan, 1t viii be considered by q
special Planning Commission
: committee. headed by Conrad Z.
Wirth, National Park Service
director. That committee in
turn will report to the full Plan
ming Commission at its next
meeting September Is.
-, General agreement on design
e of the bridge must be reached
0 before consultant engineers can
begin work on a model of the
a crossing. Such a model, or SER
ries of models, will also be given
1.-the Fine Arts Commission for its
c Iadvice on the type Of bridge
(which should be built.
eI District officials want to begin
-Iactual construction of the SIX
lane bridge as early as possible
n next year.