Freeway's Future Debated

The District's Department of Transportation expects that by the end of the month it will have a final version of the consultant's report on what to do with the Whitehurst Freeway, the elevated link between Georgetown and Foggy Bottom.

But in the world of government planning, a final report is just the beginning. In fact, there have been at least four other studies of what to do with the freeway.

At a D.C. Council committee hearing on Wednesday, committee chairman Carol Schwartz expressed her determination to make sure that the proposal to tear down the freeway does not advance to the next stage, a million dollar environmental impact study of the top alternatives presented in the consultant's study.

For those commuters who use the Whitehurst to skirt Georgetown's congested streets, the only good alternative is a tunnel, but that would cost far more than it's worth. It's difficult to find groups in the neighborhoods that surround Georgetown who favor the take-down. Even Georgetown residents appear divided over the prospect. Many consider the elevated highway an eyesore, but don't see how they benefit from turning K Street into a commuter route while further jamming M Street and the other nearby streets.