The History Of US Interstate Revolts

[@Beaverman1]

really happy with how this video turned out! Also the longest video on the geo channel which is lit

[@goated_aone]

I know this city is in Canada and not the US, but an important city to talk about is Vancouver. There were plans to build a north-south freeway and an east-west freeway, but both were stopped by an unlikely alliance of Working class people, NIMBYs, environmental advocates, and Chinese people.

[@theschiznit8777]

And in return they get some of the worst traffic in North America. But paying some of the highest prices for gas while idling in traffic must make the granola eaters feel all green.

[@Crash8668]

Jane Jacobs saved Toronto and many freeways were cancelled. Her book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) should be on every Urban Planners reading list.

[@JaKingScomez]

It sounds like a massive benefit to build those freeways. Imagine the economic output

[@edwardmiessner6502]

@@JaKingScomez a massive benefit? Look what happened to Detroit!

[@jamesnotfound]

I’m so happy someone mentioned this! Vancouver is the best example of how freeway revolts can benefit everyone. There was a big plan to build a ring of highways around downtown Vancouver and another bridge across the Burrard Inlet. Would it have helped traffic? Maybe. But we all know what happens when they build a downtown elevated freeway (i.e. Boston, NYC, SF) it never ends well for the urban landscape. Vancouver is a big city but doesn’t feel big because there’s space for parks and trails and greenery.

[@the_cheese]

This is an excellent first look at Freeway Revolts in the USA; keep up the great work, Beaver Geography! I look forward to seeing your take on the people of Portland, Oregon thwarting Robert Moses's plans in the mid-1970s in perhaps another installment. I especially appreciate your highlighting the inherent racism of building urban freeways not for the benefit of those who live in the city, but for those who want to get from the suburbs to the business districts and back as fast as possible. Thanks for another awesome video!!

[@Tysonhayter]

hardly. urban dwellers were already where they worked. besides, if you contribute the majority of taxes, you should reap the majority of the benefit

[@qjtvaddict]

Unintended consequences they killed public transit too

[@Tysonhayter]

@@qjtvaddict good

[@thunderbird1921]

I don't know if I'd call it racism as much as classism. It is true that black communities were targeted in some areas, but in a number of other cases, they kicked ALL the poor out, white, black or other. Dagnabit, they just couldn't have those smelly peasants in the way of their high speed commutes. Heck, this systemic classism is just as strong today. My parents and I remember community after community being gentrified in the VA town we lived in during the 2000s. "Get those stinky poor away from us" seemed to be the attitude.

[@bryanCJC2105]

The SF Bay Area's Loma Prieta Earthquake, the one that collapsed the double deck Cypress Frwy in Oakland and collapsed the upper deck of the Bay Bridge, seriously damaged the Embarcadero Frwy which allowed the city to demand its removal instead of reconstructing it. The Central Frwy also required expensive earthquake retrofitting so it was also an opportunity to tear it down. Th Embarcadero was truly ugly. I remember when my Dad would drive on it when I was a kid in the 70s. The lower deck was dark and spooky. I never knew SF without it until after it was torn down and I was stunned at how it opened up the city's waterfront that was walled off by that hideous freeway. I think one of the most dramatic examples of how freeways destroyed communities is in New Orleans where the Claiborne Expwy portion of I-10 was literally bulldozed right over the main commercial street, the wide, tree-lined Claiborne Boulevard lined with bustling businesses, of the 7th ward, New Orleans's Black community. The freeway decimated the neighborhood's busy downtown and divided the community. The neighborhood suffered from divestment, loss of jobs, plummeting property values, and noise and air pollution. It never recovered. Seeing a picture of the way that this expressway literally was laid over a boulevard is jarring to say the least.

[@yossarian6799]

Once the Port Authority (who OWNS this city) is on board, the plan can move forward. It won't be all smiles and sunshine though. Once the expressway is gone and revitalization begins, gentrification will arrive in short order. The Vieux Carré was a once-affordable bohemian community turned into some Disneyesque "FrenchQuarterLand" for the VERY-rich. Treme and the 7th Ward will likely follow the same path, pushing poorer residents out to the horror wasteland of New Orleans East.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

@@yossarian6799 and New Orleans East was originally planned to be a White suburb and called Eastern New Orleans. The oil bust in the early 80s and Hurricane Katrina literally destroyed it to the point of it becoming the mostly wasteland that it is today.

[@texasyojimbo]

I had a feeling the effects of the 1989 earthquake needed to be mentioned.

[@KenSNJ]

@@texasyojimbo The 480's fate was sealed by the Earthquake, not revolts. The MAYOR of SF at the time didn't want the 480 repaired because he feared a repeat of what happened with the 880 in Oakland or that even he thought it was an eyesore.

[@cameraredeye3115]

Tbh the Claiborne Expressway in New Orleans needs to be demolished and I-10 rerouted to where I-610 is currently at. That way Claiborne Blvd. can be rebuilt to the way it was while you still have the bridge going over the Mississippi River...

[@spartacus3250]

Good stuff. Keep up the grind man this channel is on it's way up

[@BeaverGeography]

Appreciate it

[@DonJohnsonTN]

Love this video! I would also point to the I-40 freeway revolt in Memphis which led to a US Supreme Court case - Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Volpe (1971). The unused ramps and other remnants of what would have been a route through the center of Memphis were just removed about 15 years ago. The part of the route that was built became Sam Cooper Blvd. which is controlled access for 4 miles then becomes a divided surface street before terminating at the Zoo that would have been demolished if I-40 had been completed there.

[@swinde]

The Zoo would NOT have been demolished, but the freeway was to go through picnic grounds and an old "bus lane" as well as being just to the south of the Zoo. The original I-40 interchange with I-255 was horribly designed and the abrupt turns on the flyover northbound exit resulted in a tank truck losing control and literally burning up the lower level and a few houses on the side. The intersection was completely rebuilt in the early 2000s. The original property condemned to build I-40 was offered first to the original owners for buy back.

[@idriveastationwagon1534]

Not sure if it was the same story for I-40 in Raleigh but wade avenue between 40 and 440 was gonna be I-40 with 40 continuing through the center of Raleigh.

[@texasyojimbo]

Yes, I agree that the Overton Park situation should have been covered. If only because ANYONE who has ever driven in Memphis on I-40 notices the sudden turn onto Interstate 69 (one of the sharpest turns on any Interstate Highway) to avoid midtown and Overtown Park.

[@swinde]

@@texasyojimbo The north loop was originally designated I-240 and is mostly in the Wolf River bottom land. The levee this freeway was built on was actually sediment from the Mississippi River that was moved through a temporary pipeline. The land of this bottom land around the freeway is still undeveloped because it has Wolf River flood waters on it.

[@ronclark9724]

@@swinde Furthermore about Memphis, the southern loop of I-240 runs through alongside Nonconna Creek. Memphis also wanted I-40 to serve the northern side of downtown as the I-55 bridge served the southern side of downtown. I-40 was intended to run from the northern side of downtown to the railroad right of way south of Summer (US-70 and US-64) through Midtown and Overton Park, the state looking for the cheapest direct route possible. Eminent Domain can get expensive, as these homeowners that lost their homes were fairly compensated...

[@scottwendt9575]

The other effect of this is that now any public works project takes decades if it ever gets built and costs multitudes more than in any other country in the world. This NIMBY movement is why the condition of our infrastructure is at the bottom of the developed world. It’s why HSR has never managed to get off the ground.

[@Yeagermeister08]

As of 2014, I-70 past I-695 has been decommissioned and redesignated as Maryland Route 570 and will be converted into a boulevard.

[@SICW1970]

Imagine if the central artery was still around today. The traffic would probably contest Sao Paulo. 3 lanes on each side, only 1 tunnel from the artery to logan airport, dumb drop off ramps, dense population, and dirty air. I'm happy the Big Dig happened lol

[@TechSavvyOppa]

The freeway revolts in Portland Oregon were interesting, because remnants of the cancelled freeways are visible all over the place. There are ghost interchanges on some of the bridges that go nowhere and are fenced off so you don't accidentally drive off the bridge deck into the river. There is also an oddity on I-84, where when you drive east, it feels like you are exiting the freeway, and re-merging back onto the freeway again... This is because the original planned route of I-84 was further south along powell blvd. The current I-84 was supposed to just be US-30, so where it exits, and re-merges, was the originally planned interchange for US-30, I-205, and I-84, with 84 and 205 being duplexed between the planned and current route. This is also why Powell Blvd is so wide, becuase ODOT already acquired all the land to route I-84. After that section of freeway was cancelled, some of the land was returned. It was also interesting when I took an class on LA geography in college. I-710 and I-210 were supposed to connect, and form a loop around the city, but a bunch of residents in Pasadena registered their homes with the Historic Society, effectively blocking construction and preventing the freeways from connecting, which is why the 710 and 210 are the way they are.

[@MinecraftInfrastructure]

I absolutely love this comment. I’ve watched the Peter Dibbe video about Portland’s freeways.

[@gj1234567899999]

In at Louis, there is a vibrant little Italy neighborhood called “the Hill”. Interstate 64 cut right through the middle of the neighborhood. There was a lot of opposition to the interstate from the neighborhood, but it was built anyway. The southern part of the neighborhood remained vibrant but the northern half separated by the new highway withered away.

[@davestewart2067]

Believe most of I-64 in St. Louis proper was a pre-existing US 40 expressway that was incorporated into the system.

[@nfcolby]

Check out I35E in St Paul. A freeway revolt almost left 35E disconnected through downtown St Paul. A compromise was reached that allowed the freeway to finish

[@normcochran9414]

Oh so that's why U.S.101 is freeway from L.A. to San Mateo where the San Fran airport is and then you have to drive the congested city streets of San Fran to the Golden Gate Bridge. It finally made sense, thank you!

[@speedzero7478]

The best way to get to the Golden Gate would have been to take 380 to 280 North, then take the Highway 1 off ramp through 19th Avenue and Golden Gate Park. Much better route than going downtown through 101/Octavia/Van Ness.

[@pacificostudios]

The Beverly Hills Freeway would have run from I-405 to US 101, roughly along Melrose and Santa Monica Blvd. The fact that this assault on the West Side of L.A. flopped so hard that no one remembers it was ever proposed shows how much money and power can do in Los Angeles. The planned junction with 101 is apparent Vermont crosses. Today, a storage center occupies most of the land that would have been used for the interchange.

[@msbravender]

In New Orleans, there was a plan to build a riverfront expressway that would go through the French Quarter, the oldest neighborhood in the city and biggest tourism magnet. The plan was killed by a freeway revolt in the late 60's led by some of the city's most prominent citizens. While that project was killed, another freeway went ahead as planned about a mile from the French Quarter and cut through Treme, one America's oldest black neighborhoods.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

"Highway" to Nowhere here in Baltimore is a tragic reminder of how inept our politicians are. Spend money to build expressways but broke to build our rapid transit network... JFX could have been far worst than what it is today

[@stevenmaginnis1965]

I know Governor O'Malley tried to reverse that by approving a light-rail line for the west side of Batlmire but Governro Hogan - a developer - canceled. Governor Moore is bringing the light rail line back.

[@KKEM641]

While at the time it was not an Interstate, it could be now. It is in Kansas City, MO. There was going to be the Cross Midtown Expressway, US 71, built to Interstate standards. However it was blocked by the same reasons, and a court battle for 40 years. A compromise was agreed and now a three mile section has stop lights. Now people are complaining about the lights, and a multi million dollar study to fix it. If it is brought up Interstate standards, it will become I-49.

[@jordansummerlin7040]

Love your channel and content! Please don’t stop ❤️

[@BeaverGeography]

Appreciate the support dude!

[@mocowan6642]

Great video! I’d like to suggest for another video on the freeway revolt of Atlanta. The location of the Jimmy Carter library is where an interstate was proposed in the 60s.

[@swatl]

I was hoping someone would mention this one. I remember the bridge abutments along Moreland Ave when I was a kid.

[@boltstrike2787]

Glad you brought up I-70 in Baltimore, although there was also I-83 which was meant to connect to I-95 and just randomly ends downtown now. Another one I'm familiar with is the cancelled Somerset Freeway that was supposed to run from Trenton, NJ to I-287. I-95 had a random gap in it as a result which was only just recently filled in 2018 with the completion of an interchange between I-95 and the PA Turnpike.

[@davestewart2067]

There should have been a “west branch” of the NJT to carry 95 directly to Philly. The Somerset corridor was not direct. Back in the late fifties, ram rod straight US 1 could have been upgraded as a turnpike spur. Would have resulted in a coherent I-95, and the authority would have gotten their revenues.

[@maroon9273]

I always thought I-95 tags along with I-195, I-295 to meet I-95 in Philly.

[@boltstrike2787]

@@maroon9273 No, before the PA Turnpike interchange I-95 ended just after it crossed into NJ and become I-295 and turned south. Then the NJ Turnpike picked up the I-95 designation north of I-287 (since the Somerset Freeway was supposed to end at 287 and 95 would continue east to the turnpike). There was no connection between the Philly branch of I-95 with the NJ Turnpike until the PA Turnpike interchange was completed.

[@maroon9273]

​@@boltstrike2787thanks

[@5roundsrapid263]

One city that was majorly changed by freeways is Nashville. Several historical neighborhoods were bulldozed in the ‘60s. Several streets are buried and just end at the base of the interstate. Some bridges are being built now to reconnect the areas.

[@bonecanoe86]

A freeway revolt story from Philadelphia: In the 1960s, there was a plan to build a freeway along South Street, which is the border between Center City and South Philly. Because of this plan land values plummeted and many properties were bought by hippies leading to South St becoming a center of counterculture in Philly. The freeway was eventually cancelled, and South Street eventually evolved into a center for arts, concerts, and nightlife in the city.

[@ashtonnelson2624]

Great video! Would’ve loved to see some coverage on Portland, OR with examples such as the infamous Mt. Hood Freeway! Otherwise all around very informative and well put together, appreciate the hard work!

[@BeaverGeography]

If I make another video with this topic, I’ll get Portland in there for you

[@aidanburns6163]

Have you checked out the video on portland by Peter Dibble? Great look at Portland's freeway system and how bad Robert Moses could have made it.

[@ashtonnelson2624]

@@BeaverGeography ayyyyy let’s go!!! thanks man!

[@wyskraker1]

Near San Francisco...I've always wondered about I-380. It abruptly terminates in San Bruno at I-280 with several incomplete ramps and and a paved underpass. It looks as if it was intended to extend west to Hwy 1 in Pacifica.

[@absea7918]

Seattle also had its share of Freeway Revolt. After building I-5 through the heart of the City, the community said "enough". and stopped/delayed plans to connect I-90 to I-5 as well as the proposed RH Thompson expressway, Bay Freeway, NE 50th Street expressway and I-605. It should also be said that in some cities freeway construction was used as a tool/weapon to demolish lower income and minority communities.

[@jabber1990]

"we're not going to build a road!" "what if we made it a toll road" "so, I was thinking about how we should build a road out there"

[@295g295]

5:05 - In San Francisco the Embarcadero was destroyed.

[@KenSNJ]

It was damaged and the Mayor wanted it torn down. The Cypress Street section of the 880 in Oakland was the one that got completely destroyed by that earthquake.

[@epicboi46]

They should’ve just made I-70 concurrent with I-695 up until 695’s junction with I-95 in Arbutus. Destroying Leakin Park would’ve been terrible, but ending I-70 at a Park-and-Ride like how it is now just sounds ridiculous 😕

[@RedPorch]

Love your content man!

[@BeaverGeography]

Thanks dude, appreciate it!

[@stevenmaginnis1965]

There was actually a third east-west Manhattan freeway planned for Harlem?

[@mmtransport]

Absolutely underrated channel keep it up 👍

[@BeaverGeography]

Appreciate it!

[@jdcjeep47]

Another awesome video!!! It's obvious that you take some time doing research for each of your videos! Keep up the great work! I can't wait to see how far your channel will go!

[@AaronOfMpls]

Here in the Twin Cities, we actually got a pretty dense freeway network, with several US- and state-numbered freeways supplementing the interstates in much of the suburbs. But not surprisingly, planners of the 1950s and '60s wanted it to be _even denser,_ with more urban freeways. Freeway revolts in the '60s-'90s led to all almost all of the not-yet built urban freeways getting cancelled in the '70s and '80s. One compromise from this was the stretch of I-35E through a wealthy part of St Paul being built as a 45 MPH no-trucks parkway (the "practice freeway" you covered in one of your other videos). Another was Hiawatha Ave (MN 55) being rebuilt as an at-grade expressway with traffic lights (instead of the planned freeway) -- _and_ our first light rail line alongside it.

[@jamess7576]

A rural revolt that failed is the route of I-80 from Laramie, WY to Rawlins, WY. The Wyoming Highway Department (forerunner to current WYDOT) wanted the route to follow the US 287/30 route. Feds said nope, this is one that may be worth looking into for a future video of yours. One source available is a book called "The Snow Chi Minh Trail" by John Waggener.

[@TheAmericanCatholic]

I wouldn’t think Wyoming will have a freeway revolt

[@jamess7576]

@@TheAmericanCatholic Yep, Wyoming actually built the additional miles of 4 lane divided highway to interstate specs to try and convince the feds. Feds said that's nice but too bad.

[@capricornone2362]

Don't forget the cancelled Paradise Expressway in Phoenix

[@coreyrussell2942]

Make a part 2. I am very interested in our nation highways.

[@ZorroPepe1]

Excelent video, I'm just learning English and I watch your videos bc they are short and well explained, so I can have easy access to information that I'd like to know more about but I can't find any content about it in my language D:

[@coryburris8211]

A sequel to this video should also include the canceled I-755 in St. Louis

[@MrChilili]

You make content of the very stuff I find interesting

[@VA-zr6xw]

The bigger problem with highways in NYC is trying to pass through. The I-95 through the Bronx is a parking lot. A single accident in the Manhattan section can ruin everybody's day because there's no way around it. Going from Jersey to New England or Long Island can feel like it takes about a month.

[@DTD110865]

The other planned highways and parkways could've given drivers more alternate routes, but everybody wanted to stop them from being built in their neighborhoods.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

At least I-287 gives New Englanders and New Jerseyans an alternate route to the Verazzano/I-278 and the GWB/Cross Bronx

[@DTD110865]

@@edwardmiessner6502 True, but it's further out of the way, and it doesn't also go to Long Island, like it was supposed to.

[@froytii]

Excellent video!

[@marsgal42]

I too immediately thought of Portland. Here in Canada significant freeway revolts happened in Vancouver and Toronto. They started building a few: think of the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts in Vancouver, Allen Road in Toronto.

[@VictoryHighway]

The cancellation of I-95 through the Boston area has led to chronic traffic problems ever since. I-95 was clumsily rerouted along Route 128 from Canton (where northbound traffic funnels down into one lane and goes around a loop ramp to merge onto Route 128) to Peabody where 95 splits from 128. At both interchanges,the prevailing movements favor 128.

[@grvan434]

That’s quite a start on covering proposed freeways that were canceled. Several comments mentioned other examples like the DC area, the original plan for I-40 in Memphis and proposed I-755 in St. Louis. I’m from the Kansas City area, and covering it would take a video of a healthy length. There were several proposed freeways that were canceled, two of which resulted in the notorious Benton and Jackson curves on I-70. One that was planned but sat idle for decades was the proposed South Midtown Freeway which ended up as Bruce Watkins Drive. MoDOT planned it as a freeway, but the local government wanted a parkway instead, and it was tied up in the courts for years. The compromise was a parkway section from the 75th Street interchange to the 51st Street overpass. It now carries US 71.

[@biruss]

And the actual intersectiona are the deadliest in Missouri

[@edwardrasmussen3465]

If a sequel to this video is done, I-895 in the Providence area in RI & MA is another example.

[@99thDimension]

Like to see highways built for military use and why also the Pan-American Highway and the NAFTA Highway also the...excellent channel.

[@hazardousmaterials1284]

As a Baltimoron, I was just waiting for you to mention the Freeway to Nowhere. The planners built one end on the west (the park and ride) and one end on the east (the 1.5-mile section) in order to justify tearing up everything in between - and yes, the design was completely racist. But plans at the time were even worse. Had the designers had their way, the JFX (Interstate 83) would have continued south through the downtown, blasting right through Little Italy, Fells Point, and other historic areas, to connect to the east side. It would have been grotesque.

[@FatManWalking18]

the Baltimore revolt also prevented 95 from running through Federal Hill. the DC revolt prevented the Anacostia Freeway [I-95} from being completed between the Beltway at College Park [similar terminus as I-70] to RFK Stadium

[@maroon9273]

It was strange they never upgraded 295 antacistia freeway and 50 John Hanson freeway so I-95 can be alternative reroute designation then going back to the beltway.

[@arkaikk]

Thank god for these revolts! Also, I was the 100th like on this video :) Keep these videos coming!

[@kosycat1]

I've driven the entire length of 70 from Baltimore to Utah, then to LA, then up to Eureka Cal. My dad grew up in FElls point. They kicked them out because they were going to connect 70 though. he later got the chance to buy the house back for $5k. but had to fix it up or whatever they are million-dollar homes now

[@pauldudley8837]

West of Philadelphia in the 1960s there was a proposed interstate that would cross Delaware county but connect interstate 95 with the Pennsylvania turnpike from Chester to Valley Forge. Only problem was it went right by Swarthmore college and they protested for over 30 years. Although much needed it was finally worked out in the 1990s and built but during that time it was referred to as the blue route because it only existed on engineering designs.

[@stevejohnson1321]

Massachusetts 695 wasn't killed entirely by homeowner displacement complaints. Downtown merchants also believed drivers would bypass Boston businesses. There's an element of truth to that. Cambridgeport and Somerville didn't get torn up, but the solution we ended up with cost many times more.

[@shearperfect3150]

Atlanta and Miami is another major player in highway revolts

[@redwingblackbird8306]

I'm in the Minneapolis, MN area. Its weird to see, old maps of proposed roads, that never happened. The ones that did get done, were planned so long ago. Its like proposing and implementing a Nasa probe to Saturn and its moons, takes forever.

[@neoskyline2879]

Great stuff! Enjoying all the content you put out! If a part 2 is ever made for this video, South Florida needs to be talked about. Miami-Dade and Broward County had plenty of long stretches of expressways cancelled. Hialeah being the 2nd biggest city in Dade county was notably very anti-highway

[@g-mang-man7924]

As someone who has ridden and driven on I70 between exit 16 on the Baltimore Beltway to Washington Pa for 55 years, I know this highway well. The only interstate with a traffic light in Breezewood Pennsylvania, and the stretch between 79 south, and Claysville Pa finally becoming up to interstate standards not until 2010.... and as of 2022, always still under some kind of construction.... We love our I 70!

[@gali01992]

Boston, in particular, hits home for me. I lived in southern New Hampshire and would commute down MA-2, I-495, US-3, and I-95. US-3 between I-495 and I-95 is set up to handle five lanes. But they only have three (bridges are built five lanes wide). That coupled with the merge of I-495, US-3, and the Lowell Connector, makes life miserable for the average commuter. Eight lanes merge into three. The entire stretch is bumper to bumper at five MPH most of the day. The radio stations don't include it in their traffic reports because it's always clogged, and everyone knows it. I-95 is another sore spot. There are places where it could easily be made four lanes but there's only three. Boston just doesn't want to upgrade their 50+ year old freeway system to handle the four-times number of cars that it was designed for back in the mid 1900s.

[@JohnDeBrino]

Adding more lanes isn’t going to solve the issue, they widened 93 and that’s still a parking lot at peak times (I used to live next to 93). Boston needs to invest more into the T to get people out of cars, which will ease congestion on 93/128/the pike through less demand.

[@maroon9273]

They should've done it once governor Sergent cancelled all of the highway projects in the state. Southeast expressway should've been upgraded it make it safer. By adding a breakdown lane and a proper hov/bus lanes. Even improved US-1 northeast expressway, Saugus to peabody and route 2 lincoln to Acton branch as well.

[@Skaggs666]

With any luck (and technological advancement) all of these freeways will be built underground and some of the existing interstates will move underground as well.

[@speedzero7478]

Cool video. In San Francisco we stopped many freeways, and I wish we could get rid of the rest of them. The Earthquake of 1989 helped a lot to remove them, since no one wanted to spend tens of billions to rebuild and retrofit a lot of these collapsed or compromised freeways.

[@markrobinowitz8473]

I-70 was truncated by Section 4(f) of the 1966 Transportation Act, which bans federal aid highways through parks. It's stopped more stupid roads than any other federal law. The impact of the future 170 on the neighborhoods inspired Baltimore citizens to stop the full project. The Denver suburbs are currently planning a new freeway through the former Rocky Flats plutonium factory, which is heavily contaminated and shouldn't have construction (of any kind) that would disrupt the pu contaminated dust. Freeways will be our "Angkor Wat" after the oil is depleted.

[@jedediahwright6959]

You should definitely look into the Mount Hood Freeway revolt in Portland, and how the plans turned into the MAX light rail

[@Jwilliewilson]

Might add I-40 in Memphis to your part 2

[@ToBeDetermined56789]

I-275 in the Detroit area was originally planned to run from I-75 just north of Monroe to reconnecting with I-75 just south of Flint, but was canceled north of Novi (I-96/696) due to public resentment. That area is now one of the most congested places in all of SE Michigan.

[@JPJ432]

So basically it usually but not always boils down to Efficiency/Productivity vs. Beauty. That would be a hard juggle. Dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t.

[@matthewjaeger8036]

Great work beav

[@matthewmcdaid7962]

I-696 linking I-94 and I-96 was delayed for a number of years while activists and engineers argued about how to maintain pedestrian access from neighborhoods to the synagogues that served those neighborhoods. Since you frequently had to cross the expressway route you had either to build a prohibitive number of bridges or change the way you designed the bridges. The current interstate has enabled the citizens to maintain their freedom of worship and not break Shabbas by walking more than a Sabbath Day's journey while still carrying a substantial traffic flow.

[@mcsomeone2681]

I always can't believe how many people have never heard of the freeway revolts, it's not taught in us history for a reason

[@stevensiferd7104]

Don't forget about the Long Beach Freeway's unbuilt northern section that was supposed to terminate at the interchange of state route 134 and I-210. The people of Pasadena were able to get that one killed after a fight of about 30 years.

[@jameswilliams9849]

There is IH 40 in Memphis, Tennessee. It was stopped before IH 40 through Overton Park. But that was not before a six or seven mile stretch of future IH 40 was built in from the east loop. This piece of freeway is named Sam Cooper Blvd. plus there are ghost ramps in the IH 40 and IH 69 interchange west of the park.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

I'd like you to do a focus on the Boston and New York City freeway revolts, thank-you

[@Dovietail]

If you want to talk about racism and highway planning, you need to visit the story of TX 75 (Central Expressway in Dallas) and the Freedman's Former Slave Cemetery. What a battle royale!

[@mw...]

Fine! I subscribed

[@jamesnotfound]

Fun fact: The Governor of MA at the time, Francis Sargent was highly against freeways because his family home in the North End was destroyed when they built I-93 (Central Artery) through Boston. One of the cancelled freeways would’ve brought I-95 to downtown Boston. They had already cleared the land and stuff. But after it was canceled, Boston re-built the Orange Line (subway line) on the land and a multi-use pathway called the Southwest Corridor.

[@anthrocoon]

Yes my late Dad talked about Sargent (seen in the vid, speaking) and the moratorium on freeway construction in early 70s (I was born in 62)

[@robertatkinsonjr.8587]

Wrong. You are confused, your history is faulty. Governor Francis W. Sargent, who grew up in Hamilton, MA, and later lived in the wealthy suburb of Dover, MA, as an "Old Yankee" Republican, was the head of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works (MA DPW), later the Mass Highway Department (MHD) and MassDOT. Source: Wikipedia. Mr. Sargent later became MA Lieutenant Governor under Governor John Volpe. When Gov. Volpe was appointed by President Nixon to be his Secretary of Transportation in 1969, Frank Sargent succeeded Gov. Volpe as the new Governor, then won election in his own right in 1970. Gov. Sargent cancelled all highway construction within the MA State Route 128 beltway in 1972, in a desperate hope to win re-election as Governor in 1974, but it didn't work. The Democrat, Gov. Mike Dukakis beat him in 1974. Frank Salvucci, who later became the MA Secretary of Transportation under Gov. Mike Dukakis, was an MIT Civil Engineer who became active in the freeway revolts in Boston. Mr. Salvucci's Grandparent's house in the Brighton section of Boston was demolished to make way for the MA Turnpike Extension (I-90) in the early 1960's. Source: "Building the Mass Pike", by Yanni Tsipsis, from the "Images of America" book series, published by the Arcadia Press. Available on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, and fine bookstores everywhere. Mr. Salvucci later became famous as the "Father of the Big Dig" in the 1980's. I remember this time vividly, as I wrote my first term paper in support of the cancelled highways in 1973, when I was in eighth (8th) grade. It was in all of the Boston newspapers (Boston Globe, Herald-Traveller, Record-American, etc.) at the time. Only the Globe and the Herald are still published today. BTW, the Herald-Traveller newspaper merged with the Record-American to become the Herald-American, later shortened to simply, the "Herald".

[@S.Roth94]

The Hoan Bridge (I794) in Milwaukee was the bridge to nowhere for the longest time. After a limited access parkway was built south of the bridge it's seen more use, though. Milwaukee is littered with unfinished freeways and even had a spur demolished.

[@barrystarke8088]

I would also look at Phoenix and their Freeway Revolt and how it stopped I-10 for decades and then lead to all the expansion later on and what that looks like now.

[@JL-sm6cg]

Yup. I live in Phoenix, and their partial excuse was they "didn't want to become another LA", well then they did anyways...but without freeways, and by the time they realized they fucked up, they were too little too late to get on the funds-matching bandwagon, hence why all freeways outside of I-10 and I-17 are non-interstate in the Phoenix area.

[@tyfrank3427]

Freeways are a good thing in the right balance. But in some places in the U.S they were overbuilt in the cities. In Canada as a general rule, it is done differently. Few freeways were built through residential neighborhoods and into the city's core. I don't believe racism directly had much to do with why black neighborhoods were chosen to put interstates in. They were poor and lived in dilapidated houses. If you're going to destroy homes to build a freeway, those are the ones. But the problem is, they paid market value for those houses meaning, the residents who were poorer couldn't afford better. However, especially at that time, racism was a contributing factor for them being poor and in those neighborhoods to start with. The U.S. does need more Interstates in places, but this video proved that putting them through the cores of cities, can often be troublesome and detrimental. They're better off building the Interstates around the city

[@295g295]

9:12 - Nelson Rockerfeller, Governor of New York state through the 1960s, until Summer 1974, when Gerald Ford selected him to be Vice President.

[@RKelleyCook]

Excellent video. If you like revolts, you really should check out Detroit's sorid history. I-96 along Grand River was never built (leaving two bizarre intersections in an S-curve to surface streets namely the Davison (now M-8) which a few miles to the east was the U.S.'s first urban depressed freeway. The Davison was planned on being extended in both directions as intended by the engineers. To the west to I-96, to the east to the the Mound Road freeway. Land was acquired for that but it was never actually constructed leaving a huge stack interchange on I-696 complete with service drives again connected only to a surface street. I-275 a beltway and intended Detroit trucking bypass but was stopped halfway through leaving a huge 3/4 mile wide interchange connecting to nowhere for 25+ years. Eventually it was extended 4 miles in large highway configuration, partially using those ghost bridges. The middle section of I-696 was almost delayed about 20 years due to one complaint which stuck (it goes right by the zoo) leading to a capped freeway design and an underground stacked interchange at Woodward that was the most expensive in the U.S. until Boston's Big Dig blew that number out of the water. Gratiot road was also supposed to be freeway-ized and where it connects with the Chrysler (at modern day I75 and I375). It was going to be a crazy giant spiral interchange. Only half the loops were actually built. The big part of the story is Coleman Young a charismatic black mayor who got elected partially on the promise to stop all these freeways ruining the black neighborhoods. After getting elected he told all the white people to "hit eight mile road" (Detroit's northern border and inspiration for the movie "8 Mile"). Unsurprisingly most people with money did exactly that and what was at the time considered the worlds greatest modern city promptly went in the toilet.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

I was a preteen living in Milford (White Lake Township) and I found out about all those planned freeways save the Gratiot one. Route 275 North (either I or M) the way it was planned went right through an unincorporated village (Commerce) and several areas of critical environmental concern. It would have brought an endless stream of endless truck traffic through the area and weekend and holiday traffic to four state recreational areas/reservations within 10 miles of my house. Needless to say, beyond that little stretch, the highway never got built.

[@stuartwald2395]

I grew up in the NYC area, seeing signs for I-78 and I-495 in both New Jersey (leading to the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, respectively) and Queens (near JFK airport and on the Long Island Expressway), and wondering why the "Part A" of each did not connect to its "Part B"; it offended my sense of logic. It took while for me to understand why people might not want two elevated highways going through Midtown, SoHo and Little Italy. They would have made getting some places easier (same thing with getting to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco), but I get it.

[@Brian_rock_railfan]

great video

[@CDRiley]

you can make a 12 hour video instead.

[@MrJstorm4]

Would it make any sense to build either a tram or busway to connect that Park and Ride directly into the city

[@TheMrPits]

I took part in a freeway revolt myself, though not in an urban area, the locals began go question if the increased capacity route was even needed with our existing infrastructure. Why wreck people's homes instead of just taking care of the main artery we had already. It's not a limited access highway, but it could easily be configured to 4 lanes if needed. Heck, I would say I am someone who has been facilitated with the interstate system since I was old enough to look out the car window. But suddenly here I was revolting against the system I admired. One reason I love your channel, great analysis! Keep up the good work.

[@samb55]

I lived in Cambridge, Mass., in the '70s during the revolt over the inner belt that you talk about. Good summary! Also worth mentioning is the cancelling of the southwest expressway, which would have carried I-95 to downtown from the circumferential Route 128. (There was a racism angle to that proposed routing, by the way. Good that you mentioned that issue!) Then-Governor Michael Dukakis cancelled the southwest expressway and the inner belt (proposed I-695). I-95 moved to Route 128 west of Boston. The central artery and existing southeast expressway became an extension of I-93.

[@edwardrasmussen3465]

It was Francis Sargent that canceled all interstate highways inside Route 128, except for I-93, in 1972.

[@maroon9273]

​@@edwardrasmussen3465Even cancelled I-84, I-290, I-391, Lowell connector expansion and many other highways as well including Lynn, Revere Beach, Peabody/Salem connectors.

[@edwardrasmussen3465]

@@maroon9273 The I-84 that would have connected Hartford and Providence had nothing to do with Sargent. If you are talking about I-84 beyond how it ends at the Masspike (I-90), the road would have been built where MA 49 exists today, up to at least Spencer and bending east presumably along MA 9. I-290 beyond I-495 in Marlboro was cancelled due to community opposition, particularly those towns between Hudson and Waltham where I-290 would have gone. I have no idea what you are talking about with I-391 as that highway was built to completion, though how it ends abruptly is a wonder, similar to how the Lowell Connector ends. I wouldn't want to live in the house across the street where each highway ends! Everything mentioned above had nothing to do with Sargent as all are outside of Route 128. The moratorium was for highways INSIDE Route 128, except for I-93.

[@grangermontag1824]

So glad the freeway revolts saved Baltimore. Otherwise that city would be a total shit-hole now.

[@chrisalley6282]

Lol my thoughts exactly. How much worse would Baltimore be if I-70 had been built?

[@edwardmiessner6502]

@@chrisalley6282 as Beaver says, Leakin Park and Gwynns Falls would have been utterly destroyed. That’s why there's a Jones Falls Expressway but no Jones Falls! In addition the JFX extension would have prevented Fells Point and other eastern Baltimore neighborhoods from becoming anything but ****holes.

[@maroon9273]

Baltimore would've been a 3rd world War torn country like Detroit.

[@Nomadd_swe]

Good shit as always, never knew that the US Interstates had such intresting history

[@jimc.goodfellas]

There is a ton of interesting stuff about the interstate system

[@yossarian6799]

Two books to read: THE POWER BROKER, by Robert Caro - the whole Robert Moses story THE SECOND BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS, by Richard Baumbach, detailing the 1960s battle to block a proposed freeway that would have separated the French Quarter from the river

[@BeaverGeography]

I think I may read the first book

[@Crash8668]

A third. Jane Jacobs. “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” (1961)

[@edwardmiessner6502]

I live in New Orleans now and was able to read the original Robert Moses freeway plan for New Orleans. The original Riverfront Expressway would have not only cut off the French Quarter from the Riverfront but also cleaved the Fauborg Marigny and the 7th and 8th Wards in two, all the way to Gentilly Boulevard.

[@h2psr581x]

Could you do a video on I-70 West of Denver to the Colorado-Utah boarder. A lot of interesting history there and would be awesome to hear about!

[@SombreroKnight]

Great Video! This reminded me of the planned Harrisburg Freeway in Houston. The freeway was a planned extension to connect Texas Route 225 to Downtown Houston and level a historic hispanic neighborhood and through many protest and revolts the freeway was cancelled.

[@cameraredeye3115]

I'm actually glad of that tbh. Downtown Houston is already going through a shit show when it comes to rebuilding I-45 in downtown...

[@mav50]

Great Video! I think a pretty interesting one would be NY-135 and it’s history of plans to go from Long Island to Connecticut. Please check it out! :D

[@SigmaRho2922]

NY-135 was to be redesignated as interstate 287 but given the situation regarding the bridge proposals being removed it should be redesignated interstate 995 as a tertiary spur route of interstate 495. The obvious solution would be to extend interstate 80 into queens and downgrade the 495 designation to a state route with interstate 580 being in a concurrency with it. NY 135 would be designated as interstate 780.

[@mav50]

@@SigmaRho2922 Yeah, but that will probably never happen. Lol

[@edwardmiessner6502]

@@SigmaRho2922 Or Interstate 380 with the tunnels and Manhattan surface streets designated Business 380 if US 46 and NJ 3 are upgraded to Interstate standards. Then you'd have a continuous 380 from I-80 at NJ-23 in Wayne NJ through the city and out along Long Island. Of course that's never going to happen. 😒

[@SigmaRho2922]

@@mav50 It would happen by redesignating I-295 as I-80.

[@stephentthomas]

Do Phoenix.

[@JL-sm6cg]

You should also talk about freeways that weren't built because they would've gone through residential neighborhoods that HAD money. Like I-275 in SE Michigan, for example.

[@waverunner6497]

I hated driving 275 and 696. I considered those freeways the autobahn of Michigan.

[@RKelleyCook]

I-275 definitely was certainly stopped by the well off NW oakland county folks, but 20+ years later those same towns which were primarily served by the 2 lane Haggerty Rd which had become an absolute gridlock with all the new subdivisions, demanded MDOT to build a ~4 mile eight-lane Haggerty Connector which was ironically laid right down the original I-275 right of way.

[@JL-sm6cg]

@@RKelleyCook you're talking about M5 North right?

[@JL-sm6cg]

@@RKelleyCook and also I think it's SW Oakland County.

[@coolwhip455]

Leakin Park aka Baltimore's largest unofficial graveyard.

[@DTD110865]

So, you're telling us it's some popular mob dumping ground for dead bodies or something like that?

[@MarloSoBalJr]

@@DTD110865 This isn't sarcasm. Leakin Park has a reputation for being the city's "bio recycling" ground for the "paid contractors"

[@DTD110865]

@@MarloSoBalJr So, in other words, yes. Sounds to me like this would better reason to build the road, so those "paid contractors" have a better chance of getting caught if they try any "bio recycling." Or a place to search for a bunch of unmarked graves of missing loved ones.

[@mbathroom1]

interesting, this should be called the interstate channel

[@arposkraft3616]

@0:20 well youd think, then again its america, i dont put it beyond you guys to just design an speedway (snel-weg) to end in an parking lot, probably with a wal mart attached

[@alsehl3609]

Maybe a less sensational narrative about the many highways proposed might be that the engineers knew that there would be opposition and in anticipation had Plan A, Plan B etc.

[@r.pres.4121]

I wish that you would have covered the freeway revolts in Buffalo because there were a lot of highways planned for the city and suburbs. We are trying to either tame down or get rid of the SR 198 expressway through Delaware Park which was a horrendous mistake. There is talk of covering a mile of the SR 33 expressway on Buffalo’s east side to repair the severe damage done to that neighborhood 60 years ago. Than there is the I-190 Thruway on the waterfront that people would love to see either moved or completely demolished since it sits on our waterfront. The SR 5 Buffalo Skyway is another roadway whose future is now up in the air due to public pressure to demolish it.

[@cwf1701]

Another interstate stopped by revolts is I-275 north of I-96/I-696 in Oakland County MI

[@jackiepie7423]

2:16 freeways are and never were needed

[@jackiepie7423]

are not^

[@jg-7780]

Another great example is DC, where freeway revolts led to the cancellation of a massive highway network which was replaced with the metro system!

[@DTD110865]

The highways and Metro system were supposed to go together.