were acted on, no road construction occurred. Plans were drawn up in 1903 to extend the street about beyond the "city limits" to reach the Ivy City development, but these, too, fell through. In 1907, as construction of Union Station was under way, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) created a diversion track (beginning at Ivy City) so that its passenger trains could reach the new station. As part of this effort, the B&O was required to build a bridge to carry New York Avenue over its new track route, extending New York Avenue to Fourth Street NE. The B&O built the bridge and extension, but the bridge remained unused for decades. Extensions to Bladensburg Road were debated again in 1908, and failed. The right of way was purchased in 1914, and property owners along the street route assessed for construction. But no construction occurred. An extension was proposed to South Dakota Avenue NE in 1925 (after land was purchased to found the United States National Arboretum), but these proposals were not acted on. Construction on New York Avenue Extended finally began in September 1930. The $231,000 ($ in dollars) project created a roadway long from Florida Avenue NE to Bladensburg Road NE. There were no intersections with side streets, and only 4th Street NE merged with it. New York Avenue Extended opened on November 2, 1931. The final section of New York Avenue NE (known as New York Avenue Extended), from Bladensburg Road to the District-Maryland border and the connection with U.S. Route 50, opened in October 1954. The construction of Route 50 was a joint effort of the state of Maryland (which built the northern half) and the federal government (which constructed the southern half). The District of Columbia paid to have New York Avenue extended to the connection. A "gateway" to the city was proposed at this time, but no gateway was built. This section of the avenue was not well-planned. At the bridge over South Dakota Avenue and the railroad track just a few hundred feet westward, New York Avenue narrowed from three lanes to two, creating major back-ups. The fate of New York Avenue NE was sealed with the cancellation of the Northeast Freeway in 1977, which was intended to provide a more direct route for traffic between downtown Washington and Baltimore along the Interstate 95 corridor. The loss of the Northeast Freeway left New