Evening star., 1955-03-24
New Highway Plan
For Southwest Gets
Federal Study Today
By George Beveridee

A long awaited highway plan,
suggesting a possible, but highly
controversial answer to the
stalemate over traffic routes
through Washington's southwest
redevelopment area. will be pre-
sented to Federal planners today.
The plan is based on predic-
tions of the Southwest's traffic
volume in 1880, as made by the
firm of DeLeuw-Cather, con-
sultants hired by the District to
design the proposed Southwest
IF street, freeway and its con-
nectionS.
The District Engineer Com
missioner, Col. Thomas A. Lane.
emphasized that the De Leuw-
Gather ideas have not been ap-
proved by city officials.
He declined to discuss specific
traffic predictions justifying the
tentative plan until they are
presented late today to a special
National Capital Planning Com
mission Committee trying to re-
solve the Southwest problem.
Suggestions in Plan
The plan, certain to rekindle
a number of old arguments. sug-
gests:
/. The main north south
routes for heavy traffic through
the southwest be two one-way
streets-Ninth for southbound
and Twelfth for northbouud
travel. This would leave Tenth
street free for the broad mall
proposed by William Zeckendorf
on Tenth street to serve as a
local traffic entrance to the
rebuilt area.
2. Extension of the Southwest
freeway over the Washington
Channel from the foot of Twelfth
street, a diagonal crossing of
West Potomac Park and direct
connections with two one-wsy
Potomac River bridges near
Fourteenth street.
3. Replacement of the old
trestle-topped Fourteenth street
bridge slightly upriver from its
present location, but no pro-
vision for a two-way Potomac
bridge from Reaches Run, va
a key proposal of the planning
commission.
Extension of Freeway
4. Use of Ohio drive along the
Potomac toward the Lincoln Me-
mortal as a further extension
OF the Southwest freeway, COM
pleting the south leg of the Lro-
posed Inner belt" road network
around the congested center of
town. The planners favor the
use of independence avenue in
stead of Ohio drive for this pur-
pose. which tentatively had been
agreed upon earlier.
S. Construction of the South
west freeway as an eight-lane
road. Earlier indications were
that it would contain three lanes
In each direction, with provisions
for two additional lanes only if
future traffic warrante a.
Reaches Run bridge.
Drawings of the DeLeuw-
Gather proposal show the Zeck-
endorf Tenth street mall intact,
reaching from Independence
avenue to the Maine avenue
waterfront and overpassing the
Southwest freeway.
The planning commission has
tentatively approved a proposal
that Tenth street S.W. be used
as a two-Way through-traffic ar
terry, connecting both with the
freeway and the Reaches Run
span the DeLeuw- Gather report
ignores.
Shift of Mall Opposed.
The planners proposed the
Zeckendorf mall be moved one
block eastward to Ninth street,
a move the Zeckendorf forces
oppose.
tn n 0IxtA to
stalemate that President Eisen-
hover last week asked George A.
Garrett. president of the Federal
City Council. to meet with all
agencies concerned.
Mr.. Garrett met yesterday
with Mr.. Zeckendorf and said
they discussed general aims" of
the New Workers. redevelopment
plans. He quoted Mr.. Zecken-
dorf as saying specific proposals
his group has for resolving the
controversy will be given the
planning commission in advance
Of its next meeting on April 7.
Mr. Zeckendorf's architect.
Ieoh Ming Pei, also is expected
to attend today's meeting of the
planning commission commits
tee. at which the DeLeuw-
Gather proposal will be dis
cussed.
Old Proposal Altered
Proposals that Ninth and
Twelfth streets be used as one
way through-traffic arteries have
been raised before.
One new feature of the
DeLeuw-Cather proposal, how
ever, is that Ninth be used for
southbound, rather than north
bound traffic, and that Twelfth
be used to carry cars northward.
Twelfth already is one-way
northbound, north of Pennsyl-
vania avenue NV.
The De Leuw-Cather drawing
did not indicate whether Ninth
street would pass beneath the
Southwest freeway and Inde-
pendence avenue. This is likely.
however, since the Zeckendort
proposal calls for an elaborate
cultural center west of Tenth
gtrapf