Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-04-17

HucI1 L1S QuSb nCtblC0S thCAC
nifty about Seven Corners, one Of
the State of Virginia.
Come June, bulldozers will b
ing Of q SIS million shopping !
center. woodward g. Lothrop |
and Garfinckels plan stores In !
the center.
Sometime after that-and none |
too soon for the harried motor !
lists who use the intersection
the Virginia Department OF /!
Highways viii face-lift the whole |
trafic pattern, In desperate
attempt to remove some Of the |
causes Of traffic jams.
Seven Corners long has been
an important crossroads, the hub
of roads leading to Falls Church
and the heart Of Fairfax and
Arlington Counties.
Fort Placed at Site
In Civil War days. two high
ways-Leesburg pike and what is
now Wilson boulevard - met
there.
The Federal Government
placed q fort at the site. Fort
Buffalo, vestiges of which still
can be found behind the Hill
wood Court Motel.
After the battle Of First Ma
nassas, Confederate troops moved
up to Munsons Hill, a mile east
| Of Seven Corners.
The hill, within sight Of WASH
ington, marked their northern
most advance in the Fairfax
Arlington area. Cautious Gen.
George B. Mcclellan hesitated to
clean out the rebel force because
Of the since-famous Quaker
guns"-wooden logs shaped and
painted to look like cannon.
Finally he moved. Then a
string of 81 forts was laid out.
Fort Buffalo, like the others.
saw little action.
Abandoned After War
The fort was abandoned after
the war and the crossroads led
a sleepy life until the 1930s.
when the State sliced q four
lane highway, Arlington boule-
ward. through the middle.
The name Seven Corners"
was quickly pinned to the inter-
section and sticks despite the eff
forts Of the champions Of the
name Fort Buffalo,"
AS traffic pressures mounted.
the intersection became less and
less capable of sloughing of the
daily burden it was asked to
carry.
Traffic lights were installed.
the rotaries were improved. but
motorists still are unhappy.
How soon the road situation
can be remedied remains the
secret Of the highway depart
ment. l.. E. Brent, assistant res
ident engineer for the Culpeper
construction district, says plans
for underpassing Arlington
boulevard are about 80 per cent
I complete"
Ramps and overpasses will tie
the other roads to Arlington
boulevard.
Utilities Pose Problem
The problem Immediately con-
fronting the $1.6 million project
is the completion Of a plan for
relocation Of utilities.
Seven Corners is an important
underground intersection, too.
Few motorists are aware that
key telephone and telegraph
arteries, as well as sewer, water,
gas and electric lines, run
through the area.
/ Until all the utilities can get
together on plan involving
simultaneous action. the road
face-lifting will be delayed, says
Mr.. Brent.
There's also the question Of
funds. The State has allocated
$3.50, 900 for Seven Corners. I'm
der Virginia's "pay-as-you-go"
system of road financing 1t may
take another year or two before
the project actually gets under
way.
Private business is moving
faster. Kass Berger. Inc, of
Washington, has announced it
will go ahead this year with
construction Of a shopping CEN
ter on the 25-acre Foote tract,
bought two years ago for $780,
| 600 from the heirs Of Frederick
Foote, q former slave.
The tract sets between Airing
ton boulevard and Leesburg
pike. Its development is ex-
pected to set of the final round
Of building around the intersec-
ton.
The master plan for Fairfax