A federal judge in Wisconsin has issued a preliminary injunction halting a major urban freeway project and agreeing with community groups that low-income residents could suffer “irreparable harm” if the project moves forward. The groups contend that the project advantages wealthier auto commuters at the expense of poorer transit riders.
highway reconstruction
Carmaggedon leads to significantly better air quality
As Los Angeles-area residents were preparing for “Carmageddon II” – the second scheduled closing in two years of 10 miles of Interstate 405, the busiest highway in the country, to complete bridge work – research findings were released showing almost instantaneous improvements in air quality during the original Camageddon in July 15-17, 2011. Unfortunately, the effect was reversed soon after the freeway re-opened.
"Dig once" advances via executive order
A Government Accountability Office report issued June 27 outlines the advantages and disadvantages of requiring fiber optic conduit to be installed during construction of certain federally funded highway projects. The report release was preceded on June 13 by an executive order requiring federal agencies to ensure that broadband infrastructure projects, such as those laying fiber-optic cables, coincide with ongoing highway construction whenever possible to reduce private companies’ costs of expanding their high-speed internet networks. The order is similar to legislation introduced in both the House and Senate but never passed.
Capping urban highways can reconnect neighborhoods.
Cities are finding ways to connect neighborhoods and gain valuable urban space by building new types of bridges over freeways when they are reconstructed. The Chicago Tribune describes how some cities have created green space, …