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ANNANDALE ROAD BRIDGE SAID TOO GRANDIOSETo The Editor, Sir:The citizens of the Shookstown Road area have our fullest sympathies in their opposition to over-designed count}1 roads. We are currently involved In the same sort of over-design here in the Em-mitsburg area. The project here is the proposed new bridge and roadway on Annandale Road over Tom’s Creek.Annandale Road is now approximately 14 feet wide and the bridge is a one-lane iron truss structure about 50 feet long (built about 1906 by the York Bridge Co.). The proposed bridge would be 40 feet wide and 100 feet long, plus about 1,000 feet of 40 feet wide roadbed raised approximately 4 feet above the present road level.This grandiose structure was put on the Frederick County Master Highway Plan as a major arterial back in the early 1970’s when Viking Ventures was attempting to develop a major convention center on a property served by Annandale Road. (We understand that the president of Viking Ventures, Mr. Eric-ton artusltv wanted a 4-lanp hiehwav ) Viking Ventures went bankrupt in 1974 and all of the land involved has gone back Into agricultural use (2oning is now Conservation or Agriculture). However, the Master Highway Plan has never been amended to reflect th« change in use for the area.We have'been given various estimates of the cost of this proposed structure, ranging from about $320,000 (Mr. Fout) to $468,000 (Mr. Wilkinson quoted in the Frederick Post in November, 1977)—both figures presumably reflecting 1975 estimates. Both of these gentlemen have stated that the cost of this bridge and roadway is to be paid entirely out of county funds.We recogoi2e that the residents of Hampton Valley wishes to have-safe,speedy access to the Town of Em-mitsburg and its services. However, this can be accomplished most reasonably by preservation of the existing historic structure which is presently passable (with a 3-ton limit) but in a poor state o repair due to neglect.During this age of Proposition 13,” it would seem that our county commissioners should make every effort to stretch our tax dollars as far as possible rather thsn building super*highway super monument to their term of office.To be fair, Mr. Bollinger has consistently opposed this project as a misuse of county funds. Unfortunately, his colleagues on the board have continued on the road begun by the long-gone Mr. Ericson. Perhaps the commis sioners should give thought to Mr. Eric-son’s fortunes.we are the property owners ovei whose land this project would be built.—'* - * - ^ . - - _ aa lie ‘w.Vuiilj id vJVuli; ^a vwvj vicondemning the land for it. One of out interests, naturally, is preserving the privacy that we found here. However we do not wish our tax dollars wasted no matter where they are spent. We onlj hope that the present commissioners oi their successors will see the folly of suci an expenditure before it is made.BETSEY J. FORRENCE LEONARD E. FORRENCE Rt. 1, Box U5-A Emmitsburg, Md. £1727
Newspaper Details
The Frederick News Post
Frederick, Maryland, US
Tue, Oct 03, 1978
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Frederick C.
MD, USA 25 Feb 2023
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