Highway Expansion
Streetsblog Basics
Highway Propaganda Vids Sell City Residents on the Wonders of Wider Roads
It's not enough for highway builders to carve out land at great public expense so they can jam more cars into cities. Now they want you to believe their projects are great for the neighborhoods that bear the brunt of the added traffic and pollution.
May 3, 2016
U.S. DOT Blows Chance to Reform the City-Killing, Planet-Broiling Status Quo
The Obama administration purportedly wants to use the lever of transportation policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx recently said he'd like to reverse the damage highways caused in urban neighborhoods, but you'd never know that by looking at U.S. DOT's latest policy prescription.
April 19, 2016
How San Diego Planners Spun the Press to Sell Highway Expansions
How far will transportation agencies go to spin public perception of their highway expansion plans? San Diego's KPBS has produced a brilliant case study in this video and the accompanying report -- a deep dive into the media operation mounted by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) to defend its slate of highway expansion projects.
April 12, 2016
Anthony Foxx Wants to Repair the Damage Done By Urban Highways
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is offering a surprisingly honest appraisal of America's history of road construction this week, with a high-profile speaking tour that focuses on the damage that highways caused in black urban neighborhoods.
March 30, 2016
With Widening of I-75, Michigan DOT Will Deliver Another Blow to Detroit
The city of Detroit lost a stunning 25 percent of its population between 2000 and 2010. Even as the city struggles heroically to repair the damage, the Michigan state government is undermining Detroit's fragile recovery.
February 26, 2016
Sober Non-Partisan Analysis: America Wastes a Ton of Money on Highways
A good deal of the $46 billion the federal government pours into highway spending each year is going to waste, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report [PDF].
February 23, 2016
Highway Boondoggles: Ohio DOT’s $1.2 Billion Portsmouth Bypass
In a new report, Highway Boondoggles 2, U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group profile the most wasteful highway projects that state DOTs are building. Today we highlight Ohio DOT's $1.2 billion Portsmouth Bypass, the most expensive and, arguably, least-needed transportation project in the state's history.
February 3, 2016
Houston Mayor Calls for “Paradigm Shift” Away From Highway Widening
Newly elected Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner gave a remarkable speech yesterday in Austin [PDF], calling on the state to change its transportation priorities and stop pouring billions into widening highways.
January 29, 2016
Caption Contest: TxDOT’s Shiny Happy People Sucking in Highway Exhaust
This rendering of State Highway 45 Southwest in Austin -- one of 12 highway boondoggles singled out by U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group this year -- inspired some mockery on Twitter:
January 22, 2016
Highway Boondoggles: Widening I-95 Across Connecticut
Last year Congress passed a multi-year transportation bill. Like previous bills, it gives tens of billions of dollars to states every year to spend with almost no strings attached. How much of this federal funding will state DOTs devote to expensive, traffic-inducing highway projects that further entrench car dependence and sprawl?
January 19, 2016