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Journal

Highways

Highways

The latest ideas, insights and action around ending highway expansion.

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The Buttonhook and the Cost of Safety We Refuse to Pay

We could save lives for far less than $58 million, but only if safety were the true priority.

Highways
The Buttonhook and the Cost of Safety We Refuse to Pay
What We Lost When We Built the Claiborne Expressway

On Ash Wednesday, 1966, a highway carved up New Orleans, taking families, flowers, and futures with it. Today, the attempts to rectify those wrongs stop short of actually treating the wound.

Highways
What We Lost When We Built the Claiborne Expressway
Removing an Urban Highway Is Step One. Here’s What Comes Next

Removing an urban highway is a big win—but the work doesn’t stop there. Providence shows how cities can take the next steps to repair their communities.

Highways
Removing an Urban Highway Is Step One. Here’s What Comes Next
This $1.8B Project Shows Why State DOTs Need a New Playbook

North Carolina’s I-26 Connector illustrates everything wrong with the way state DOTs operate—especially in an area still recovering from Hurricane Helene. But it also shows how these systems can change.

Highways
This $1.8B Project Shows Why State DOTs Need a New Playbook
West Virginia Is the Canary in America’s Infrastructure Coal Mine

West Virginia’s $1.6 billion Road to Prosperity program was supposed to cover maintenance costs and reignite economic growth. Seven years later, the money’s gone and the situation has gotten worse.

Highways
West Virginia Is the Canary in America’s Infrastructure Coal Mine
The Intersection of Waste and Opportunity

An intersection redesign in Fairbanks, Alaska, proves that road projects are not always improvements—and that DOT priorities are often out of touch with reality.

Highways
Accounting
The Intersection of Waste and Opportunity
3 Things To Keep in Mind When Removing an Urban Highway

In 2011, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation decided to do something extremely unusual: It removed an urban highway. Here are three lessons to learn from their success.

Highways
3 Things To Keep in Mind When Removing an Urban Highway
NYC’s Congestion Pricing Was Flawed—But Killing It Won’t Fix Traffic

The Trump administration’s elimination of congestion pricing was shortsighted, but NYC’s congestion pricing was deeply flawed from the start. If congestion pricing is ever going to work as intended, it needs to be revamped with the right priorities.

Highways
Streets
NYC’s Congestion Pricing Was Flawed—But Killing It Won’t Fix Traffic
How Much Does a Mile of Road Actually Cost?

The Federal Highway Administration has a chart full of answers to that question you might find useful.

Highways
Streets
How Much Does a Mile of Road Actually Cost?
The Phantom Freeway That Won’t Stop Haunting Alabama

The Northern Beltline project has been haunting Alabama for over 50 years, draining money, time and energy from other more productive and desired projects. Here’s how it came about — and why it refuses to stay dead.

Highways
The Phantom Freeway That Won’t Stop Haunting Alabama
What Strong Towns Really Says About Infrastructure Spending

Are urban areas really more financially sustainable than suburbs? Do urban areas inherently have higher infrastructure costs? Here's what Strong Towns actually says about the Suburban Experiment and infrastructure spending.

Accounting
Highways
What Strong Towns Really Says About Infrastructure Spending
75-Year-Old Houston Advocate Refuses To Surrender to Highway Expansion Project

At 75, Susan Graham didn’t expect to spend her time fighting freeways — but after nearly five years leading Stop TxDOT I-45 in Houston, she’s nowhere near done.

Highways
75-Year-Old Houston Advocate Refuses To Surrender to Highway Expansion Project
The Mayor Who Tried to Stop a Highway

When Mike McGinn didn’t see any other mayoral candidates challenging a proposed highway expansion project in Seattle, he stepped up to the plate and won the election. This is the story of his ensuing fight to stop his city from making a costly mistake.

Highways
The Mayor Who Tried to Stop a Highway
The Growth Ponzi Scheme: A Crash Course

Ponzi schemes fail because they are built on illusions: there is no there there. So what happens when an entire continent of towns and cities is caught up in a kind of Growth Ponzi Scheme? We are finding out.

Accounting
Housing
Highways
The Growth Ponzi Scheme: A Crash Course
"Kansas City's Blitz": How Freeway-Building Blew Up Urban Wealth

The choice to carve up Kansas City with freeways ranks among the worst planning mistakes in the region's history. Many decades later, the city is still is suffering the consequences.

Highways
"Kansas City's Blitz": How Freeway-Building Blew Up Urban Wealth
What's a STROAD and Why Does It Matter?

Show this video to anyone who needs a crash course in what makes our streets dangerous and how to make them safer and more financially productive.

Streets
Highways
What's a STROAD and Why Does It Matter?