COST OF TEMPORARY REPAIRS Mr. Bow. What was the cost of that temporary waterproofing? Mr. LYNN. We expended $18,483 in 1942-43, and had to expend another $13,377 in 1948-49-a total of $31,860. Mr. Bow. And you are requesting now how much? Mr. LYNN. $837,000 for reconstruction, to correct the defects permanently. Progressive deterioration of the terraces is still occurring. The deterioration has only been retarded by the temporary waterproofing now in place. As you recall, Mr. Chairman, when the terraces were in good condition we always kept the plant cases filled with flowers, and it was one of the most beautiful places around the city of Washington. In the summer evenings it was the one place where you could see crowds of people enjoying the city vista from the Capitol. It has been closed now to the public for many years. Mr. HORAN. Since about 1935? Mr. HENLOCK. About 15 years now. Mr. GARY. It was closed because of the need of repairs? Mr. LYNN. Yes. People cannot walk on the temporary waterproofing and slag coating. We must keep this area closed to the public until the proposed reconstruction, which includes complete renewal of the old paving, is accomplished. Mr. GARY. You are requesting $837,000. Is that the total cost or is it just the first installment? Mr. LYNN. That is the total cost of restoring the terrace to good condition, structurally and otherwise. CAPITOL GROUNDS Mr. HORAN. Next is Capitol Grounds. Mr. HENLOCK. That item starts on page 64 of the committee print, and page 44 of the justification, which we ask to be inserted. (The statement referred to follows:) Capitol Grounds 1953 appropriation in annual act- - - Within-grade salary advancements....... Maintenance, signal lights, increased from $2,000 to The present roadway and sewer systems in the old grounds were constructed in 1873 and have not since been rebuilt. They are in a serious state of disintegration and should be reconstructed without further delay. Continuous effort is made to eliminate hazardous conditions resulting from disintegration of the paving, but due to failure of the foundations of the roadways, driveways, and plaza, it is becoming more and more difficult to safeguard against hazardous conditions. As the Government is now suable under the Federal Torts Claims Act of 1946 for accidents occurring in the Capitol Grounds resulting from defective paving, the need for reconstruction is even more urgent. Reconstruction of paving over the Legislative Garage and adjacent areas in the enlarged section of the grounds_ There is a total of 958,000 square Total proposed reconstruction, old Total estimate for 1954 $670, 000 90, 000 INCREASES REQUESTED Mr. HENLOCK. On this item, Mr. Chairman, we show three small items of increase: One is $2,100 for within-grade salary promotions, under the Classification Act. One thousand dollars is to cover the net cost of reallocation of positions as a result of a classification survey conducted by the Civil Service Commission. Mr. LYNN. I might say, Mr. Chairman, that all of our permanent employees are under the Classification Act and have retirement privileges. Congress passed an act in 1929 placing our regular employees under the Classification Act. Our emplovees have been subject to the Retirement Act since its original enactment in 1920. Mr. HENLOCK. $500 is the additional amount asked for maintenance, signal lights. The estimate is based on maintenance of 97 traffic signal lights, 8 walk lights, and 2 demand lights at rates fixed by the Public Utilities Commission for the District of Columbia. The only large item of increase is $760,000, of which $670,000 is for the reconstruction of the plaza, driveways, roadways, sidewalks, and drainage and sewer systems in the old Capitol Grounds and $90,000 for reconstruction of paving over the Legislative Garage and adiacent areas in the enlarged section of the grounds. There are several points we have stressed in our blue sheet digest. One is that the old roadway and sewer systems as they exist today, were constructed in 1873. The roadways were resurfaced in 1913, but the old foundations designed for horse-drawn vehicles were retained, without any reconstruction. Several times we have been given funds for temporary or emergency repairs, when there have been paving or sewer failures. And you will recall, when the Legislative Reorganization Act was passed in 1946, Congress included all agencies of the Government, including our office, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, so that we are now liable for any accidents that occur on the Capitol Grounds, as a result of defective paving. Page 46 of the justification simply shows that if you decide to approve this item, the language change shown in the committee print will be necessary: but there is no question of any legislation or authorization act being required. This work will cause no change in the landscape features of the Capitol Grounds. RECONSTRUCTION OF PLAZA, DRIVEWAYS, ETC. AND PAVING OVER LEGISLATIVE GARAGE AND ADJACENT AREAS The detail of the reconstruction item and discussion of the same starts on page 49 and extends through page 59 of the justifications. Do you wish the detail to be in the record? Mr. HORAN. Yes, I think we had better include it. (The statements referred to follow:) RECONSTRUCTION OF PLAZA, DRIVEWAYS, ROADWAYS, SIDEWALKS, AND DRAINAGE AND SEWER SYSTEMS IN THE OLD CAPITOL GROUNDS; RECONSTRUCTION_OF PAVING OVER THE LEGISLATIVE GARAGE AND ADJACENT AREAS IN THE ENLARGED SECTION OF THE CAPITOL GROUNDS-NEW NONRECURRING ITEM The work recommended to be done under this estimate in the old section of the grounds is estimated at $670,000, and in the new or enlarged section of the grounds at $90,000-a total of $760,000. The item covering the old grounds was originally presented to the committee in the estimates for the fiscal year 1938, but was not approved at that time. It was resubmitted for 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, and again in 1951-but on each occasion was deferred for later consideration. The item is again urgently recommended for approval for the fiscal year 1954. The attention of the committee is called to the fact that Congress in enacting the Federal Torts Claims Act of August 2, 1946 has made the Federal Government suable for damages for accidents occurring in the Capitol Grounds resulting from defective paving, and although every effort is made to eliminate hazardous conditions as they develop, there have been claims for accidents alleged to have occurred in the grounds filed against the Architect of the Capitol under that act, and each year it is becoming more and more difficult to safeguard against hazard ous paving conditions because of delay in proceeding with the proposed reconstruction program. The condition of the plaza, roadways, driveways, sidewalks, sewer and drainage systems in the old grounds grows worse each year and continued disintegration makes it impossible to keep them in proper condition. A survey of the paving and drainage systems was made in 1937 in cooperation with the District of Columbia highway engineers and from tests made it was found, with respect to the paving, that the concrete base throughout the old grounds is so badly broken up under the asphalt topping that it can no longer satisfactorily withstand repairing except within a few small areas. The engineers found the aggregate composing the concrete base throughout to be inadequate, uneven in thickness and composed of a miscellaneous mixture of broken brick, broken rock, clay and gravel and unable to withstand the impact of the constantly increasing present-day traffic, both as to the volume and weight of the vehicles. In the original plan of the Capitol Grounds, as approved in 1790, A Street North and A Street South extended through the grounds. With the development of the extensions of the Capitol Building, by the construction of the Senate and House wings, it became necessary to relocate and reconstruct these roadways. Congress appropriated funds for a complete topographic survey and preparation of plans for the further development of the grounds. As the result of the plan, approved in 1873, the present layout was adopted and the roadways as they exist today were then built. The usual construction of that day was a bitulithic macadam which was a patented product, consisting of broken stone or other aggregate held together by asphalts, oils, tar, or other bitumens. This type of roadway was very successful for light and horse-drawn traffic, but with the development of heavier and motorized traffic, become unsuitable. The construction of roadways within the Capitol Grounds did not, however, keep pace with the developments in this field. As vehicular traffic became both heavier in volume and type, the roadways were only improved by resurfacing, from time to time, by the addition of a wearing surface of smoother material. Since 1913, very little actual improvement, other than minor repairs, has been done on these roadways; the maintenance of the surface being the major portion of such work as was done. When the roadways were last resurfaced in 1913, the asphalt paving was placed on the old base that had then been rendering service for nearly 50 years. None of the bases of the roadways was replaced or reconstructed. The same results have occurred as in the case of a foundation of a building. Without a good foundation, the superstructure cannot stand up. Due to the increasing volume of heavy traffic, the surface is no longer waterresistant and the base has been pushed or merged into the subgrade. In many places, the roadways, driveway and plaza surface is very markedly mosaicked, indicating that the base is completely gone. There are many failures of the roadways which cannot be corrected by surface treatment, due to the failure of the foundations. The present storm water sewers, as they exist today, were built at the same time that the roadways were constructed in the old Capitol Grounds. These sewers were built for the purpose of carrying the surface water from the walks and roadways and the subsurface water from the lawn areas. Many of these sewers are located under the walks and the roadways and must be reconstructed or replaced as a part of the roadway reconstruction program. Surveys and examination made of these sewers indicate that they are inadequate and of insufficient size to meet the present demands placed on them and that serious failures are likely to occur at any time. The surveys of the interior condition of the sewers show that it would be more economical and better engineering to completely abandon the old, antiquated, and disintegrating sewers that form a part of a network of pipes and tubes throughout the grounds and to build new modern sewers for the storm water directly under the roadbed of the driveways to take the water from a complete set of new standard catch basins properly spaced so as to catch the flow of rain or snow water at points to prevent it overflowing or pooling as it is now doing. Pipes which have been removed have been found to be clogged with dirt and tree roots to such an extent that scarcely any opening remained for the flow of water. Prior to original submission of this program to Congress in 1938, it was necessary due to emergencies that arose because of major failures of part of the sewer system to rebuild and reline in 1936-37 the sewer extending from the Supreme Court Building to the Tiber Creek intercepting sewer running through the west lawn area of the grounds. It was also necessary in 1936-37 to reconstruct the section of the sewer under he south driveway from the plaza to a point opposite South Capitol Street where temporary connection was made to the rest of the sewer system. This reconstruction work was also of an emergency nature caused by a complete failure of the sewer. In this particular case, a serious hazard was presented due to the fact that the sewer is located under the steam and electric supply lines from the Capitol Power Plant which were endangered by the failure. With these exceptions, very little improvement has been made in the sewer or drainage systems in the old grounds area during the past 60 or 70 years. Since 1937 a number of urgent repairs have had to be made, and the need for further costly temporary repairs, if reconstruction is not soon undertaken, is becoming more imminent. The present sewers fail to properly carry the water off the walks and roadways; the water in many places standing in pools until it eventually evaporates, creating an unsanitary and dangerous condition. The District of Columbia Highway and Sewer Divisions estimate the presentday cost of reconstructing the plaza, driveways, roadways, sidewalks, and drainage and sewer systems in the old Capitol Grounds as $670,000. The work proposed to be done under this part of the estimate is as follows: Proposed new roadways, old grounds The new roadways proposed to be constructed under the funds asked for 1954, would be of sufficient structural strength to meet, without undue strain, the present-day heavy vebicular loads imposed. The present type of permanent roadway now being constructed in cities throughout the country, which is capable of withstanding heavy traffic strain and which would be used in the reconstruction program, consists of three courses of different materials as follows: The base course of the new roadways would be a very good grade of portland cement structural concrete, built for the purpose of supporting the heavy weights applied to the bases and spreading the weight over a wide area by beam action which lessens the pressure on the subgrade on any one point and thus tends to preserve the life of the roadway. Directly upon this concrete is to be laid a course of bituminous concrete consisting of medium aggregate, mixed in an asphalt plant with asphalt or bitumens, and applied on the concrete while still hot and firmly rolled in place to make a cushion between the wearing surface and the concrete base. The wearing, or top surface, is to be made of sheet asphalt consisting of graded sands, pulverized stone mixed hot in an asphalt plant with asphalt or bitumens and applied directly upon the binder course and also rolled in place with a motor roller and then covered with pulverized stone dust to close the pores against infiltration of water. This type of roadway is universal throughout the larger cities of the United States and has given a very fine service in the District of Columbia where temperature changes are at times very rapid, especially during the summer months when hail storms, for instance, follow an extremely hot and humid day. The price per square yard of this sheet asphalt construction varies greatly due to local conditions, but with the close contact between the office of the Architect of the Capitol and the Highway Department of the District of Columbia, it is possible to get a comparatively low price by combining the work to be performed in the Capitol Grounds with other highway projects in the District of Columbia, thus allowing the contractor to bid on a very large amount of work and keep his overhead at a minimum for this particular job. This was the manner in which the streets in the enlargement of the Capitol Grounds were constructed, and it has been found very satisfactory. Proposed new drainage and sewer systems, old grounds Under the funds requested for 1954, it is proposed to construct an entirely new and independent storm water sewer system under the roadways; all surface water to be drained to the west into the 2 city sewers, located just east of First Street west, and the 14-foot Tiber Creek interceptor which crosses the west lawn area of the Capitol Grounds. The work of constructing sewers, basins, and connections must, of course, precede the roadway construction so as to avoid the necessity of cutting the new roadways. Proposed repaving of areas over, and adjacent to, legislative garage In the enlarged area of the grounds lying north of Constitution Avenue, acquired and developed in the period 1910-35, there are approximately 958,000 square feet of paving, of which approximately 339,000 square feet comprise walkway and plazas and 619,000 square feet comprise roadways and streets. The 958,000 |