Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-21
Track Dispute Halls
.E.Water Prof ect
Roll Removal
At Issue on
Anucostiu Job
By DAN GOTTLIEB
Star Staff Writer

Completion of a 81 million
water main to Anacostia is
being held up by a controversy
over removal of streetcar tracks
from Pennsylvania avenue Sc.
The Department Of Sanitary
Engineering wants to put a
section of the 66-inch main in
the median strip of the avenue
which is owned by the National
Park Service.
There is a legal question in
volved, however: Who can order
the tracks pulled up?
The District Commissioners
can order them removed from
city streets. When the street
car tracks were authorized to
be installed in 1900. the median
strip belonged to the city. 1t
subsequently was turned over
to the Corps of Engineers and
then to the Park Service.
Ruling Requested
The department has asked
the commissioners to seek a
corporation counsel ruling on
who. if any one, can order the
tracks removed.
The commissioners sent the
request to the corporation
counsel today.
The city could put the main
under the roadway rather than
the median strip. but this
would cost more and would
disrupt traffic. according to
David V. Aud, sanitary engi-
neering director.
He said that in informal dis
cussions with the company the
department had every reason
to expect" the tracks would be
removed between Eighth and
Fifteenth streets Sc, where
the main is planned.
Morris Fox. first vice presi-
dent of D. C. Transit, denied
this. Il told them If they
wanted it removed they ought
to remove it." he said. This is
public park property. not the
Districts"
The company feels that
neither the city nor the Park
Service has the right to order
the tracks removed in the strip.
Landscaping Proposed
The Park Service has in
formally asked the company to
remove the tracks the entire
length Of the median strip be-
tween Barney circle and a point
just southeast of the Library
of Congress. 1t wants to con-
vert the median strip into a
Handicapped, Towering park. D.
c. Transit is preparing an al
tentative landscaping plan that
will not require removal Of the
whole track structure, Mr.. Fox
said.
Another leg of the Anacostia
main is to 60 in the track space
on Eighth street between l.
NE: and the Avenue, S. E.
D. C. Transit has agreed to
remove this track in conjunc-
ton with street repaving work
in 1864, Mr.. Aud said.
Installing the two sections of
the water main after track re-
moval and before street re-
paving was estimated originally
to save the city about 100000
over alternate routes which in
volved cutting through streets,
Mr.. Aud said.
Already completed are sec
tionS from First and N streets
NV. to Eighth and l streets
NE, and from Pennsylvania
and Fifteenth streets Sc. to
Minnesota avenue and Eight
zenith street Sc.
Line Held Essential
The 66-inch line, the largest
in the city's trunk system, is
needed to relieve the burden on
the AnacoStic pumping station.
Growing water use in Ana
costa, other sections of South
east and at Andrews Air Force
Base make the day not far
off" when the line will be es-
Sential, he said. There are
two smaller water mains now
serving Anacostia.
The District and D. C. Transit
have worked out a four-year
program OF covering about two
thirds of the tracks and pulling
up the remainder throughout
the city.
D. C. Transit's franchise
clearly makes the company re-
sponsible for removing all its
tracks from public streets, al
though the city is studying the
possibility of relieving the COM
pany of this liability. A track
removal fund the company has
been accommodating out of fare
revenues had a balance of SAT
million as of June 30. The
Highway Department has es-
timated the company's cost OF
the four-year program at 81
million.