Freeway Removal

An aerial view of Milwaukee’s Third Ward.

Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny

The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.

August 27, 2023 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Diagram of proposed at-grade alternartive B for Interstate 94 project

More Options Presented for Minneapolis I-94 Project

Two new proposals for replacing the freeway with at-grade segments offer new visions for the future of downtown Minneapolis.

August 11, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

Aerial view of freeway interchange in Los Angeles with low-rise housing on either side and mountains in the background

GAO: Reconnecting Communities Lacks Clear Goals and Metrics

The program, aimed at supporting highway removals and other projects that work to reverse the impacts of freeway construction, is light on accountability and performance measures, according to a new report.

June 2, 2023 - Smart Cities Dive

Aerial view of 238 freeway in Oakland, California cutting through neighborhood with small houses

The Limitations of ‘Reconnecting Communities’

The Biden administration has pledged to correct the damage imposed on communities by highways and infrastructure, but many projects are only committing to minor improvements, not transformative changes.

May 26, 2023 - The New York Times

Historic Deep Ellum street sign, Dallas, Texas

Dallas City Council to Vote on Controversial Freeway Trenching Plan

A proposal to bury part of Interstate 345 in a 65-foot trench is the latest in a debate that has lasted more than ten years as the freeway reaches the end of its useful life.

May 16, 2023 - D Magazine

Interstate 787 with Albany buildings in background

Freeway Removal Projects Gain Momentum

Thanks to decades of activism and newly available federal funding, state and local governments are starting to understand the negative impacts of highway construction and working to reverse the effects on cities around the nation.

April 13, 2023 - Congress For New Urbanism

Elevated freeway under construction

How To Effectively Fight for Freeway Removal

Lessons from community activists around the country provide insight into how ‘freeway fighters’ can leverage recent momentum against road expansions to have more impact in 2023.

March 7, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

View from overpass of highway with one truck and green median with Baltimore city in the background

USDOT Awards Reconnecting Communities Grants

The first $185 million in grants were awarded to projects that aim to improve mobility and reconnect neighborhoods isolated by highways and other infrastructure projects.

February 28, 2023 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

Dallas, Texas

Opinion: Hit the Brakes on Dallas Freeway Plan

A proposal to bury a Dallas freeway may not be the best way forward for the area’s residents.

February 22, 2023 - The Dallas Morning News

Concrete highway overpasses under construction, view from below

What Will Highway Removal Funding Actually Fund?

The federal Reconnecting Communities program is aimed at supporting highway removal and reversing the damage caused by rampant freeway construction, but some watered down proposals from state agencies could fund road expansion instead.

December 16, 2022 - Route Fifty

Claiborne Ave expressway passing over Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans

‘Reconnecting Communities’ Could Fund Highway Expansions

Applications to the program reveal a pattern of state agencies requesting funds for projects that perpetuate car-centric development with only nominal equity components.

November 6, 2022 - Streetsblog USA

Nighttime view of downtown Columbus, Ohio over freeways with fast-moving traffic

Visualizing Columbus Before Freeways

A new project uses historical records to reconstruct what Columbus neighborhoods looked like before freeways displaced them.

October 19, 2022 - The Columbus Dispatch

Cars on highway in Colorado with snow-capped mountains in background

Colorado DOT Defends Highway Maintenance

While the department has canceled some road expansion projects, the agency has no plans to remove highways, calling them the “bread and butter” of the state’s transportation network.

October 18, 2022 - Colorado Public Radio

Aerial view of downtown Baltimore, Maryland with freeways in foreground

Baltimore Seeks Federal Highway Removal Grant

Advocates of highway removal hope the Reconnecting Communities Act will help fund efforts to tear down a freeway that devastated West Baltimore neighborhoods.

October 9, 2022 - Next City

Interstate 375 in Detroit with church in background

Detroit Freeway Removal Plan Awarded Federal Grant

A decade-old plan to elevate a below-grade segment of Interstate 375 and replace it with a lower-speed boulevard could begin two years ahead of schedule thanks to USDOT funding.

October 6, 2022 - The Detroit News

Map of proposed project area

$1.5 Billion Awarded for Transportation Projects, Including $100 Million to Remove a Detroit Freeway

The latest round of federal infrastructure funding includes the largest contribution to emerge, so far, from the 2021 infrastructure bill for the removal of an urban freeway.

September 19, 2022 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

A view of the Cross Bronx Expressway, an elevated highway that allows cars to drive past apartment buildings.

The Case for Urban Highway Removal

Instead of removing urban freeways, which have proven to be destructive to communities and economies—in some cases deliberately so—many cities are expanding freeways in and around cities.

September 12, 2022 - The New York Times

Aerial view of elevated Buffalo Skyway freeway in Buffalo, New York

‘Freeways Without Futures’ Spotlights Freeway Removal Efforts

Around the country, cities and states are starting to listen to decades-old demands to remove freeways that have displaced and fractured communities.

September 9, 2022 - CNU Public Square

Embarcadero

Freeway Removal Movement Slowly Gains Steam

Although the concept has recently received more national attention thanks in part to the federal Reconnecting Communities Act, cities have shown reluctance to support highway removal projects.

August 15, 2022 - Governing

Dallas Freeways

A How-To for ‘Freeway Fighters’

Ten recommendations for effective freeway removal advocacy.

August 11, 2022 - Strong Towns

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