Evening star., 1955-06-20
Roosevelt Isle
PUT
|At $40 Million
Officials Collecting
Doto on Route
For New Spon
BY GEORGE BEvERIDGE

II ny OEOh1G DE ESEhkDGE
District officials came up to-
day with preliminary data on o
Potomac River bridge over the
north tip Of Roosevelt Memorial
Island which repeatedly would
cost at least $40 million.
/ The bridge is under study az
q possible alternative for the
Constitution avenue bridge Con.
gress already has authorized
at cost Of $24.5 million.
/ Engineer Commissioner
Thomas A. Lane met an hour this
morning with highway officials
to get their ideas on a route for
the new bridge. preliminary cost
estimates and a scheme for
handling traffic. The group met
again In closed session at noon.
Data Not Released
Gen. Lane said it was "too
early" in the discussions to talk
about the data presented and in
structed highway officials not to
discuss their tentative studies.
It was reported from other
sources. however, that $40 mil
lion was a minimum" level for
the cost Of land acquisition and
construction of the project.
| A large part of this-re-
lportedly in excess of $40 million
would be for land and con-
struction in Virginia. The span
would cross the top Of Roosevelt
Island, then pass through an in
dustrial area south of Rosslyn
to join Arlington boulevard near
the new Arlington Towers Apart
mentS.
Virginia Role Studied
Arlington and State highway
officials will meet with Gen.
Lane this afternoon. obviously to
| get their views on the project
and to discuss whether Virginia
could take over some of the cost.
One Virginia official told The
Star he saw scant chance that
Virginia could do SO.
He noted that Arlington Ccun-
Ity has only $4,000 to spend on
total road construction in the
county during the next year and
that total State and Federal road
construction money amounts to
only SO million for dozen coun-
tiles in Northern Virginia.
When Congress authorized the
Jones Point Alexandria Bridge
last year. State officials promised
to do what they could to help
Ipay for its approach roads. But :
they made it plain that would
ltie up funds for some time to
come.
Would Lose Taxes
While it probably would not
be a determining factor, the
official also questioned that Ar
lington would like the idea Of
having a strip of industrial prop.
erty removed from its tax rolls.
The official said he was more
concerned about a fear that
traffic could not be handled as
well in the new scheme as by
the Constitution avenue bridge.
The latter was authorized to
cross the Potomac just south Of
Roosevelt Island. The new
scheme developed from opposi-
tion to the aesthetic impact Of
the bridge in the Lincoln Me-
mortal area.
The new bridge repeatedly will
be $500 feet longer than the
one authorized.
The Constitution avenue
bridges $24.5 million cost broke
down to SIS million for the
bridge itself and SIT million for
expensive connections and ap-
proach roads.
Figured on Same Basis
1t was understood that cost
estimates for the new bridge
were figured on the same basis.
In other words. approach con-
nections provided for in the re-
ported $40 million cost would
serve the same function as those
In the Constitution bridge.
The Commissioners are to re-
port by Wednesday to Senator
Stennis. Democrat, Of Missis-
sippi, on whether the new
scheme Is feasible, whether
other agencies involved in the
bridge hassle are agreeable to 1t
and whether the city heads want
to push it. The Senator is with
holding until then a decision on
whether to include any bridge
construction money In the city
budget for next year.
The Commissioners had re-
quested SIS million to begin
construction Of the Constitution
avenue bridge but the request
became snarled when adminis-
ration officials requested further
study of locations which might
meet less opposition.