It’s time to start removing highways. For real this time

In recent years, a renewed interest in highway removals has swept through many American cities, but as of now, instances of highways being taken down are relatively rare across the country.

This initiative can revitalize urban areas by taking back spaces for community-driven development, promoting economic expansion, and reuniting neighborhoods previously split by highways.

Cutting back on highway construction and infrastructure spending is crucial for meeting global climate targets and protecting communities from the effects of environmental and health problems.

They occupy nearly a quarter of the country's urban spaces, which is big enough to fit the entire state of West Virginia and worth roughly $4.1 trillion in total value.

When highways reach the end of their service life and are slated for possible reconstruction, we have a unique chance to address the negative impacts they've had and create a more positive future. If we don't seize this chance, the highway and all its associated problems will just keep persisting.

So why don't more states and cities in the U.S. eliminate highways? It's a complex issue.

Sluggish policy responses

The report focusing on decarbonizing U.S. transportation recommended upgrading existing highways and reducing the construction of new ones instead of removing any highways.

These measures can be effective at reducing highway expansions by accurately assessing the impacts on vehicle miles traveled and associated emissions. However, in many cases, these policies primarily focus on slashing highway spending and offsetting emissions, rather than actually paving the way for highway removal.

Shifting the focus to half-way mitigation measures such as highway caps and land bridges.

The program is projected to run out of funding two years earlier than planned, in 2024, due to worries about the potential changes in policies under the next administration. Its future will depend on the 2026 congressional transportation reauthorization bill, which will determine the availability of funding for additional planning grants and connecting existing grant recipients with capital funding opportunities.

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Their arsenal for combating highway elimination encompasses various methodologies, spanning from evaluation criteria and predictive simulations.

Lack of capability to accurately analyze the effects of highway removals and provide dependable outcomes.

For highway development, undermining its effectiveness through manipulated and misleading model outputs.

Some decision makers prioritize cars over the potential positive impacts that removing highways could have on local neighborhoods.

The transportation corridor project, currently the region's most ambitious highway removal effort, is assessing its impact on equity with a crucial question: "Will this project option lead to better transportation options for individuals?"

Indices for climate, environmental justice, and sense of place are also relatively ambiguous yes-or-no questions, with all the options scoring similarly, despite resulting in distinctly different outcomes ranging from the removal of highways to the expansion of highways.

They are examining alternative locations for roads to optimize the area suitable for development.

Limited public involvement: Many people are unfamiliar with how American cities operated before the introduction of highways. For the public to grasp the unique aspects of these types of projects, transportation agencies need to provide visualizations that fully convey the potential impact they will have.

The materials provided by MnDOT are unclear about the highway removal options, not giving the public the necessary context to fully comprehend these proposals and their consequences.

State officials have dropped the usual public testimony slots for crucial highway development meetings, essentially cutting off the main connection between local leaders, appointed officials, and regular citizens. Eden Prairie District headquarters says the change prevents them from responding to comments since they weren't submitting them in writing, shutting down public comment periods to allow only written feedback that may never actually get reviewed.

Removing Highways: A New Strategic Plan
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is exploring innovative methods to dismantle existing highways and reconstruct them into different landscapes. These approaches may include tunneling underneath, bridging over, or dissembling sections of highways. This vision of highway removals is inspired by European cities like Paris, which has successfully ripped out highways to restore and reconnect neighborhoods.
It's essential to note that the FHWA is still in the planning stages and is considering numerous alternatives, including:
1. Tunneling under highways
2. Building over highways
3. Disassembling highways
4. Converting highways to parks or green spaces
5. Redesigning highway intersections
The removal of highways offers several benefits, including:
* **Improved air and water quality**
* **Enhanced walkability and bikeability**
* **Increased community connectivity**
* **Increased urban density**
* **Reduced heat islands**
* **Decreased noise pollution**
As highway removal projects move forward, working with local communities, government agencies, and private developers will be crucial to ensure successful implementation. This cooperative effort can help to restore areas, enhance community well-being, and create sustainable urban environments.

There's a pressing need for nationwide regulations or guidelines to follow examples of successful highway removal projects, so other cities can adopt this type of innovative planning.

The Department of Transportation should conduct an in-depth analysis of the effects of eliminating highways, providing states and local governments with a comprehensive guide to effect such a plan. This should comprise financial support and technical guidance to enhance their ability to conceptualize and execute unprecedented initiatives and policy adjustments.

These changes unexpectedly appear unlikely. Philanthropic groups and forward-thinking policy organizations are most likely to need to step in and plug the funding and expertise shortfall in the years ahead.

State departments of transportation must be refocused to effectively assess and support the removal of highways that divide communities. Its procedures and technical guidelines, which were originally developed for highway projects, need to be updated to prioritize restoring community cohesion, mitigating the effects of climate change, and promoting equitable urban development.

Reiterating and expanding on the logic of previous planning strategies.

Just as cities across the nation were used as testing grounds for urban revitalization and highway construction, cities now have the chance to serve as pioneering centers for dismantling highways and implementing groundbreaking transportation policies. It's high time to be forward-thinking and urge policymakers and government agencies to re-evaluate their approaches and enable American cities to begin dismantling their highways and renewing local communities.

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