Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

St. Louis, 2008: Another “Carmageddon” That Wasn’t

11:05 AM EDT on July 19, 2011

The highway closure heralded as doomsday ends up as an anti-climactic dud... where have we seen this one before?

false

Oh, right -- St. Louis circa 2008. Just three years ago in this Midwestern metropolis, officials warned that the construction-related closure of I-64 would sentence the community to interminable gridlock and economic implosion.

Except, not unlike Carmageddon 2011, the hyperbolic prognostications never came to pass. St. Louis blog Gateway Streets says when it came to this year's hype in Los Angeles, "St. Louisans knew all along":

Anybody from St. Louis could have told LA that Carmaggedon would amount to almost nothing. St. Louis spent 2 years without 5-mile portions of I-64. Prior to the highway's closure in 2008, many people pleaded to the city, county, state, and anybody who would listen to stop the imminent project, prophesying 3-hour commutes and economic ruin for the St. Louis region. Unexpectedly for many, traffic disappeared in most places for the first few days; the full impact of the highway closure, from a congestion standpoint, took months to develop. Also, a survey released near the project's conclusion did not find any discernible economic impact on businesses near the highway as compared to businesses elsewhere in the St. Louis region.

What does it all mean? Only that contrary to "common sense," the economic well being of cities across the country is not tied to the highways that cut through them. That, and air travel takes a minimum of 3 hours door to door regardless of how short the flight is.

All of this just goes to show, once again, that more car capacity is not the solution to congestion. Transit service, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and a well-connected street grid that offers people plenty of route options are what keep "Carmaggedon" at bay, not interstates.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Bike Portland announces Tri-Met is expanding its "Bike and Ride" facilities for cycling transit users. Walkable DFW reviews Earl Smith's new book about American highway culture, "Big Roads." And This Big City carries a round-up of 25 great urbanism quotes.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Why We Care About Some Transportation Tragedies More Than Others

Why do we respond to major transportation disasters with so much urgency — and why don't we count our collective car crash epidemic among them?

March 28, 2024

Take Thursday’s Headlines Home, Country Roads

Heat Map reports on why rural Americans are resisting electric vehicles, and why it might not matter much for the climate.

March 28, 2024

Wednesday’s Headlines Missed Connection

The Biden administration is spending billions to reconnect neighborhoods torn apart by urban freeways. But the projects seem to simply paper over the problem, Governing reports.

March 27, 2024

Mega-Cars Violate Brooklyn Bridge Weight Ban with Impunity

The city does virtually nothing to stop the onslaught of excessively heavy vehicles on our roads and bridges.

March 27, 2024

Survey Says: American Walking Data Is Getting Worse

The National Household Travel Survey has never given a full picture of how often Americans get around on foot. But a recent change in methodology may have made made matters worse.

March 27, 2024
See all posts