Freeways that should be demolished

[thspfc]

I-44 between Busch Stadium and I-70 in St. Louis.

The St. Louis area is already severely lacking in north-south corridors

Do I-55, I-170, I-255, US-61, US-67, MO-141, and I-270 ring a bell?

[sprjus4]

I-44 is the only north-south freeway through the Downtown area. But sure... let's demolish it.

[tradephoric]

The elevated Gardiner Expressway East of Toronto was torn down in 1990.  Thank goodness they removed the elevated freeway and turned it into a 6-lane boulevard... that 2020 Streetview is the epitome of pedestrian friendliness!  They left some of the pillars up for a future public arts project.  Thirty years later and this is what the "public arts" project has evolved to. 

1990 Demolition:


2020 Streetview:

[roadman65]

I would think that tearing down a freeway for a boulevard with at grades is like trading a light bulb for a candle or a cell phone for a pay phone?  Considering the CO2 factor that your car emits while standing idle, that the freeways would be much cleaner for the environment.  Not all all cars auto shut off at full stops and some people still believe that it takes more gas to restart a car than to leave it running unless at an open drawbridge or indefinite freight train crossing the highway.

If the freeway is not used or doesn't have the traffic to warrant it, fine, but a heavily traveled corridor like US 75 in Dallas, that is not only going back to the stone age, but creating more problems like road rage.

[Flint1979]

I-375 in the Motor City.

[andrepoiy]

Freeways should never be demolished.

Are you implying that Harbor Drive and the Embarcadero shouldn't have been removed?

I feel like the Embarcadero might have been more useful if it was completed in full and actually connected the freeways

[andrepoiy]

The elevated Gardiner Expressway East of Toronto was torn down in 1990.  Thank goodness they removed the elevated freeway and turned it into a 6-lane boulevard... that 2020 Streetview is the epitome of pedestrian friendliness!  They left some of the pillars up for a future public arts project.  Thirty years later and this is what the "public arts" project has evolved to. 

1990 Demolition:


2020 Streetview:

I would have liked it to have been extended instead of demolished...

[tradephoric]

I would have liked it to have been extended instead of demolished...

Yeah, but by 1990 it was obvious that the Gardiner Expressway was never going to connect East towards Scarborough/Pickering.   With that roughly 1 km section of elevated freeway in need of costly repairs, it was the right call to demolish it (as it turned into a surface street just East of Leslie Street anyways) and the demolition had a negligible impact on traffic congestion in the area.

EDIT:  That all being said, by removing the elevated freeway pedestrians now have to deal with traversing a major urban 6-lane thoroughfare. 

[tradephoric]

I-375 in the Motor City.

One benefit with the I-375 project is that traffic along I-75 would flow much smoother as you would no longer have to take on/off ramps to continue along I-75.  Here is a pretty nice animation of MDOT's preferred alternative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIzi_vtGW80

[tolbs17]

I-277 in Charlotte.

[jamess]

Pretty much any highway between a city and the waterfront.

[sprjus4]

Pretty much any highway between a city and the waterfront.

I-64 in Louisville meets this, and I'd argue it shouldn't be demolished.

[Life in Paradise]

Pretty much any highway between a city and the waterfront.

I-64 in Louisville meets this, and I'd argue it shouldn't be demolished.

I would agree with you.  I think that Louisville has done quite a job in reconnecting the river to the city, especially with the rebuilt I-65/64 intersection where there is green space with a park to the river, and that newly repurposed bridge over the Ohio River for pedestrians and bicyclists.

[jamess]

Pretty much any highway between a city and the waterfront.

I-64 in Louisville meets this, and I'd argue it shouldn't be demolished.

Ive never been to Louisville, but looking at Google Maps, that absolutely looks like a great candidate to go.

[Bickendan]

Freeways should never be demolished.

Are you implying that Harbor Drive and the Embarcadero shouldn't have been removed?

I feel like the Embarcadero might have been more useful if it was completed in full and actually connected the freeways

Right, but since it never did, its removal worked out. Same with the Central.

[SEWIGuy]

Freeways should never be demolished.

Are you implying that Harbor Drive and the Embarcadero shouldn't have been removed?

I feel like the Embarcadero might have been more useful if it was completed in full and actually connected the freeways

If by "useful" it means it would have allowed better traffic flow then sure.

But it would have still been an ugly blight.  San Francisco is much better without it.

[sprjus4]

Pretty much any highway between a city and the waterfront.

I-64 in Louisville meets this, and I'd argue it shouldn't be demolished.

Ive never been to Louisville, but looking at Google Maps, that absolutely looks like a great candidate to go.

Take a look at the traffic volumes on that segment of I-64. It's not going anywhere.

[OCGuy81]

Pretty much any highway between a city and the waterfront.

Agree with this.  I remember the Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle.  It was an eyesore looking at it from the shoreline.  The tunnel is an improvement.

[bing101]

CA-90 Marina Freeway can be considered for removal in the LA area and CA-13 Warren Freeway can be considered for removal in Oakland if I were to pick which freeways should be removed.

[Revive 755]

I-44 between Busch Stadium and I-70 in St. Louis.

The St. Louis area is already severely lacking in north-south corridors

Do I-55, I-170, I-255, US-61, US-67, MO-141, and I-270 ring a bell?

* I-55:  Only works south of downtown St. Louis and uses the PSB, which has capacity and frequent construction.  On the Illinois side I-55 goes more east-west than north-south until Troy, at which point it is too far east.

* I-170:  Doesn't go south of US 40.

* I-255:  Depending on the destination could require crossing the Mississippi twice.  Frequently has construction anymore.

* US 61:  Only crosses about half of the region before turning west towards Wentzville on US 40.  Has some of the same issues that US 67 has.

* US 67:  Lots of stoplights and has a very slow downtown section in Kirkwood complete with two railroad crossing..  The northern railroad crossing can be blocked for long periods due to the adjacent Amtrak station and slow moving coal trains climbing up from the Meramec River valley.  The corridor improves north of MO 100/Manchester but is hindered by an underposted speed limit and a decent amount of enforcement.

* I-270:  Overburdened due to the lack of alternatives.

* MO 141:  Lots of stoplights, has capacity issues at US 40 and possibly also at I-44 and MO 364.  Also getting too far west for many destinations.

[ahj2000]

Freeways should never be demolished.

Are you implying that Harbor Drive and the Embarcadero shouldn't have been removed?

And also the Alaskan Way and all the other no-good urban freeways like it. Seattle's waterfront is simply better without it being clogged up by that disaster. It's open, safer, better for business, and more scenic. Some places are better off without them. Roadgeek me enjoys the look and feel and existence of these pieces of infrastructure, but practical, reality-based me abhors them.

That said, in my dream world, I-277 is gone. However, I don't think it's actually feasible in this case. Too important of a route to really have a feasible alternative. I would like to see a highway lid over it with parks and water features or something. Uptown Charlotte, at times, is too drab and business-oriented at times and it could really use some more life breathed into it. Charlotte really isn't a city that people visit from the outside, other than a few specific things.

The removal of the expressway viaduct to the Hart Bridge in Jacksonville is welcomed by me, and it'd be smart if they removed that silly viaduct to the Main Street Bridge too. Aside from when there's a game, downtown Jacksonville is as dead as a doornail, so it's not like they need all that. Best they open it up to let downtown actually live up to its potential.

277 could use something. Covering seems to be the best bet right now, but it is mostly above the streets it traverses. I don't know what the solution is, unless you bury it in a tunnel, but that would cost SO much money. It would be awesome yo have less of a division between Uptown and South End/NoDa, and it would help the appeal of the city (you're right-who would go to downtown Charlotte for vacation?)
The 1 freeway in Jacksonville seems not totally necessary too

[Occidental Tourist]

All of the following California freeways would function fine as at-grade highways:
The Pacific Coast Freeway
The Ojai Freeway
The Alfred Harrell Highway
State Route 1 between Monterey and Castroville

[Bruce]

Pretty much any highway between a city and the waterfront.

Agree with this.  I remember the Alaskan Way viaduct in Seattle.  It was an eyesore looking at it from the shoreline.  The tunnel is an improvement.

The demolition of the viaduct was the improvement.

The tunnel doesn't really do much. We could've lived without it.

[andrepoiy]

I would disagree. I don't think the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto is an eyesore, and I think one reason is that it was built very tall. They built it taller than required to reduce noise at the ground level, and thus, I think it's not actually that bad compared to the Alaskan Way

[HighwayStar]

I know that on AAroads most of us are opposed to freeway demolition, but are there any that you do think should be demolished?

None, except when they are to be replaced by a larger freeway.