Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Highway Repair

The city of Baltimore recently received federal grant money to study removing a stretch of I-40 known as the "Highway to Nowhere." Photo: FA Martin, CC

These 10 Urban Freeways Deserve To Be Demolished — But Will They?

By Kea Wilson | Apr 19, 2023 | No Comments

America is at a watershed moment in the fight to heal the harms of urban freeways that tore apart predominantly BIPOC and low-income communities, a new report argues — but what that healing will look like, exactly, is still an open question.

Rest In Pieces, ‘Fix-it-First’: Biden Caves to GOP’s Highway Expansion Obsession

By Gabriel Baumgaertner | Mar 7, 2023 | No Comments

The Biden administration has caved to GOP pressure and will no longer push states to repair existing highways before building new ones, a move that angered livable cities advocates.

Sam Graves (R-Mo.) Photo: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service

Congress’s Messy ‘Fix-It-First’ Fight Heats Up

By Kea Wilson | Jan 23, 2023 | No Comments

A long-fought effort to get states to spend more of their federal infrastructure dollars on fixing highways rather than building new ones is in peril in the newly GOP-lead head house — and if it succeeds, it could force President Biden to take an unprecedented stand in favor of progressive road priorities.

New York State was just about to tear down Syracuse’s crumbling (and racist) I-81 — until a successful suit against the project prevailed. Photo: Onondaga Citizens League

Syracuse’s Messy I-81 Teardown Fight Shows the Challenge of ‘Reconnecting Communities’

By Kea Wilson | Dec 12, 2022 | No Comments

An 11th-hour legal battle over the future of one of America's most talked-about highway teardowns is sparking a debate about what it really means to "reconnect communities" devastated by highway construction — and possibly offering a preview of similar fights on deck in other U.S. cities.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.) Photos by Gage Skidmore.

McConnell Tells States To Just Ignore Biden’s Progressive New Road Priorities

By Kea Wilson | Feb 11, 2022 | No Comments

After the Biden administration told states that they should spend federal transportation dollars on projects that put safety, sustainability, equity, and road repair first, Sen. Mitch McConnell and Shelley Moore Capito told GOP governors to ignore the guidelines and spend the money any way they want.

Photo: Allegheny County Executive's office via Twitter

Pittsburgh Bridge Collapse Underscores Urgent Need For Fix-It-First Policy

By Kea Wilson | Jan 28, 2022 | No Comments

The collapse of a bridge in Pittsburgh is just a preview of potential disasters to come under the new infrastructure legislation, which continues to allow states to prioritize building new capacity for drivers over repairing existing stuff.

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