§ 9–1201.15. Subways and viaducts to eliminate grade crossings authorized.

(a) The Mayor of the District of Columbia be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to construct viaducts and approaches thereto, to carry Fern and Varnum Streets over the tracks and right-of-way of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company and to construct a viaduct and approaches thereto to carry Eastern Avenue over the tracks and rights-of-way of The Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington Railroad Company and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, in accordance with plans and profiles of said works to be approved by the said Mayor; provided, that one-half of the total cost of constructing the viaduct and approaches thereto at Varnum Street and one-half of the total cost of constructing the viaduct and approaches thereto at Fern Street shall be borne and paid by the said Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, its successors and assigns, and that one-half of the total cost of constructing the viaduct and approaches thereto at Eastern Avenue shall be borne and paid by the said Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad Company and the said Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, their successors and assigns, in proportion to the widths of their respective land holdings, to the Collector of Taxes of the District of Columbia for deposit to the credit of the District of Columbia, and the said half cost shall be valid and subsisting liens against the franchises and property of the railroad companies concerned and shall constitute a legal indebtedness against the said railroad companies in favor of the District of Columbia, and said liens may be enforced in the name of the District of Columbia by a bill in equity brought by the said Mayor in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, or by any other legal proceeding against the said railroad companies; provided, that no street railway company shall use the said viaduct or any approaches thereto herein authorized for its tracks until said companies shall have paid to the Collector of Taxes of the District of Columbia, a sum equal to one-fourth of the total cost of constructing said viaducts and approaches, to be applied to the credit of the District of Columbia. No limitation shall run against claims made by the District of Columbia under the provisions of this section.

(b) For the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this section, the sum of $405,000 is hereby authorized to be appropriated, payable in like manner as other appropriations, for the expenses of the government of the District of Columbia, and the said Mayor is authorized to expend such sum or sums as may be necessary for personal services, engineering, and incidental expenses. The said Mayor is further authorized to acquire, out of the appropriation herein authorized, the necessary land, or any portion of the same, by purchase at such price or prices as in his judgment he may deem reasonable and fair, or, in his discretion, by condemnation in accordance with the provisions of §§ 9-1217.12 to 9-1217.24 [repealed], under a proceeding or proceedings in rem instituted in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia; provided, that of the entire amount found to be due and awarded by the jury as damages for, and in respect of, the land to be condemned to carry the provisions of this section into effect, plus the costs and expenses of the proceeding or proceedings taken pursuant hereto, not less than one-half thereof shall be assessed by the jury as benefits, the amounts collected as benefits to be covered into the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the District of Columbia.

(c) Hereafter, the Mayor of the District of Columbia is authorized, whenever in his judgment it may be necessary for the public safety, and subject to appropriations to be made therefor by Congress, to construct subways or viaducts and approaches thereto, in accordance with plans and profiles of said works to be approved by him, to carry any street or highway crossing at grade any line of railroad track or tracks in the District of Columbia, or any street or highway within the District of Columbia now or hereafter planned or projected to cross any such line of railroad, under or over said track or tracks; provided, that the total cost of constructing any project for such viaduct or subway and approaches thereto shall be borne and paid as follows:

(1) The District of Columbia shall apply to the payment of the cost of such project all federal-aid highway-railway grade separation funds available for use by the District of Columbia at the time any such project is programmed and all such funds which become available for use on such project by the District of Columbia during the construction of such projects; and

(2) If such federal-aid highway-railway grade separation funds are insufficient to pay the cost of any such project, the portion not so covered shall be paid one-half by the railroad company, its successors and assigns, whose tracks are crossed and one-half by the District of Columbia; provided further, that in no case shall the obligation of the railroad company affected exceed 10 per centum of the total cost of such project; provided further, that in the event the rights-of-way of 2 or more railroad companies are so crossed said half cost as herein provided shall be paid by the said railroad companies, their successors and assigns, in proportion to the widths of their respective landholdings, but the obligations of such companies shall not, in the aggregate, exceed 10 per centum of the cost of such project; provided further, that after construction the cost of maintenance shall be wholly borne and paid in the case of highway overpasses by the District of Columbia, and in the case of highway underpasses by the railroad company, its successors and assigns, whose tracks are crossed; provided further, that in the event the rights-of-way of 2 or more railroad companies are so crossed, the cost of maintenance shall be borne and paid in the case of highway underpasses by the said railroad companies, their successors and assigns, in proportion to the widths of their respective landholdings. All provisions in respect to the method of payment and credit of said half cost, creation of a lien in respect thereto and enforcement thereof, conditions of use thereof by street railway companies, and every other kind of condition provided in subsection (a) of this section, and the authorization and every condition in respect thereto for the acquisition of any necessary land provided in subsection (b) of this section, in relation to the viaducts and their approaches therein authorized, are hereby made applicable to the subways, viaducts, and approaches authorized in this section the same as if enacted at length herein.

(Mar. 3, 1927, 44 Stat. 1353, ch. 306, §§ 1-3; June 25, 1936, 49 Stat. 1921, ch. 804; June 25, 1948, 62 Stat. 991, ch. 646, § 32(b); May 24, 1949, 63 Stat. 107, ch. 139, § 127; July 25, 1956, 70 Stat. 639, ch. 720, § 2; July 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 571, Pub. L. 91-358, title I, § 155(c)(28).)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 7-1415.

1973 Ed., § 7-1215.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 9-1203.05 and § 9-1205.04.

Cross References

Eminent domain, condemnation proceedings, see § 16-1301 et seq.

References in Text

“ Sections 9-1217.12 to 9-1217.24,” referred to in the second sentence of subsection (b), have been repealed by § 704 of D.C. Law 7-201, effective March 10, 1983 and by § 16 of D.C. Law 5-24, effective August 2, 1983.

Editor's Notes

Office of Collector of Taxes abolished: The Office of the Collector of Taxes was abolished and the functions thereof transferred to the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia by Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1952. All functions of the Office of the Collector of Taxes including the functions of all officers, employees and subordinate agencies were transferred to the Director, Department of General Administration by Reorganization Order No. 3, dated August 28, 1952. Reorganization Order No. 20, dated November 10, 1952, transferred the functions of the Collector of Taxes to the Finance Office. The same Order provided for the Office of the Collector of Taxes headed by a Collector in the Finance Office, and abolished the previously existing Office of the Collector of Taxes. Reorganization Order No. 20 was superseded and replaced by Organization Order No. 121, dated December 12, 1957, which provided that the Finance Office (consisting of the Office of the Finance Officer, Property Tax Division, Revenue Division, Treasury Division, Accounting Division, and Data Processing Division) would continue under the direction and control of the Director of General Administration, and that the Treasury Division would perform the function of collecting revenues of the District of Columbia and depositing the same with the Treasurer of the United States. Organization Order No. 121 was revoked by Organization Order No. 3, dated December 13, 1967, Part IVC of which prescribed the functions of the Finance Office within a newly established Department of General Administration. The executive functions of the Board of Commissioners were transferred to the Commissioner of the District of Columbia by § 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967. Functions of the Finance Office as stated in Part IVC of Organization Order No. 3 were transferred to the Director of the Department of Finance and Revenue by Commissioner’s Order No. 69-96, dated March 7, 1969. The collection functions of the Director of the Department of Finance and Revenue were transferred to the District of Columbia Treasurer by § 47-316 on March 5, 1981.

Change in Government

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.