Recent Streetsblog USA posts about Highway Expansion

Clayton Homes, a 300-unit public housing complex, will be partly torn down to widen practically every highway in North Houston. Photo: Google Maps

Houston’s Highway Mega-Plan: An Environmental Justice Disaster

By Angie Schmitt | Jul 25, 2019 | 2 Comments

Thousands of Houstonians are in danger of losing their homes as the state of Texas proceeds with a massive, $7 billion plan to widen almost every highway in North and downtown Houston. Mass displacement, worsening air quality, wider segregation and more flooding are some of the outcomes experts are warning will result from the 25-mile […]

Virginia will expand Interstate 81, changes that will cost a whopping $2.2 billion and affect Civil War landscapes.

Boondoggle: Virginia’s Unlovable I-81 Expansion

By Gideon Weissman and Matthew Casale | Jul 1, 2019 | 14 Comments

Officials have pointed to safety as a key reason for the need to expand the highway. Yet, in 2010, state officials raised speed limits to 70 mph along much of I-81, a move that likely made the road more dangerous.

Interstate 5, leading toward Portland. Oregon plans to widen the highway through the Rose Quarter.

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Boondoggle: Portland Takes a Step Backward

By Gideon Weissman and Matthew Casale | Jun 28, 2019 | 11 Comments

Portland has made bold moves toward becoming a good place to get around without a car. But it's about to make a huge mistake in the Rose Quarter.

Pennsylvania seeks to widen I-83 in York County, but funds for the costly project would be better spent on operational improvements such as crash prevention. Image: PennDOT

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Boondoggle: Keystone State’s 1-83 Expansion

By Gideon Weissman and Matthew Casale | Jun 27, 2019 | 6 Comments

Pennsylvania is moving forward with a plan to spend $300 million in order to widen I-83 in York County to eight lanes from four. But project documents fail to show how the project will solve any problems or bring clear benefits to the region.

Rendering of a proposed park under the expanded I-395 highway project, showing parkgoers
strolling just feet from high-speed traffic. Image: Florida Department of Transportation

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Highway Boondoggles: More Mistakes in Miami

By Gideon Weissman and Matthew Casale | Jun 26, 2019 | 5 Comments

In Miami, highways slice through almost every section of the city, cutting neighborhoods off from one another and creating sprawl that threatens the surrounding environment.

No amount of pavement can alleviate the traffic in Chicago, because any amount of roadway just attracts more people in cars. Photo: Ken Lund/Flickr

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Highway Boondoggles: Chicago’s Congestion Magnet

By Gideon Weissman and Matthew Casale | Jun 25, 2019 | 4 Comments

The Tri-State Tollway through the western Chicago suburbs to O’Hare Airport is a testament to the fact that you can’t build your way out of congestion.

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