Your State's Most Controversial Interstate

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

I find this interesting history in the world of roads.

I would like to know what state's have the most current or historically controversial interstate.

For Arkansas, there is the one I refer to a lot, and that is I-630 (Wilbur D. Mills Freeway).

The 630 is seen as an economic and cultural division of the city of Little Rock. I have seen the difference between the north and south sides of the east to west freeway.

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6587 (+/- accuracy)
I also found the Environmental Impact Study (Draft)

[Rothman]

NY?

I-95, Cross Bronx, the One Mile of which Caro wrote.

I-895, most likely being boulevarded

I-81 viaduct, stupid tunnel advocates wasting money on what should be a replacement of some sort.

I-278, the Gowanus.  Also see Caro.

Probably others, but it's lunch time and I am out.

[WillWeaverRVA]

In VA? Probably I-81, or the widening thereof.

The City of Richmond reeeeeeally didn't want I-295 (or VA 288), either.

[roadman]

For Massachusetts, the title of historically most controversial would be divided by the original I-95 alignments south and north of Boston (Southwest and Northeast Expressways) and the I-695 Inner Belt that would have looped through Boston, Somerville, and Cambridge.

The Southwest Expressway was never constructed.  A portion of the Northeast Expressway between the Mystic Tobin Bridge and MA 60 in Revere was built, and is currently part of US 1.  The embankment for the continuation of I-95/Northeast Expressway north of MA 60 was built across the Rumney Marsh parallel to MA 107 between MA 60 and the Saugus/Lynn line, but was never opened to traffic.  This embankment, which was made of sand, imploded several years later and was eventually removed to provide sand to replenish Revere Beach, which had been shrinking due to erosion.

What is now the double decker section of I-93 in Boston and Somerville was originally supposed to be part of I-695.  Two of the ramps that were supposed to be to/from the continuation of I-695 into Cambridge were repurposed to carry the Leverett Connector roadways, while the other two were never used and are dead stubs.

[froggie]

Not aware of any inherent controversies with Vermont Interstates.  Several non-Interstate routes, sure....but nothing that comes to mind for the Interstates themselves.

To add to Virginia, there's also I-66 (arguably larger controversy than I-81, especially regarding initial construction), and the cancelled I-595.  And if you go back far enough, whether I-64 should have gone through Lynchburg or not...

[hbelkins]

For Kentucky, probably I-64, as the last completed portion of the road went through horse farm country.

If we're talking currently, I-75 as it pertains to the Brent Spence Bridge and how to build a companion span, given the irrational opposition to tolling that some in northern Kentucky are expressing.

[jeffandnicole]

If we were to base this on the thoughts and concerns of this group in regards to New Jersey, I-95 would win in a landslide.  And maybe in the 1970's and 80's it would win some sort of controversial award if you talked with residents of the state. 

However for most NJ residents, 95 isn't much of an issue whatsoever anymore, and it hasn't been for 30 years. Most people today aren't even aware of the history of it, and simply know it as part of the NJ Turnpike.   The more controversial interstates would probably be those that badly need work on them and have significant fast-moving truck traffic, which would land I-78, I-80 and I-287 at or near the top of the list.

[Interstate 69 Fan]

Indiana's infamous I-69 is sure up there.

[Big John]

I-43 in Wisconsin was built with protests of farmers as it cut through prime farmland.

[TheStranger]

California:

I-710 in South Pasadena
the former I-480 in San Francisco, now demolished
the proposed I-80 extension (Western Freeway) of the 1960s, which would have continued west (along the Panhandle park) from the 1991-2005 terminus of the Central Freeway to the unbuilt original I-280 alignment paralleling 19th Avenue in Golden Gate Park. IIRC this was the primary focus of the San Francisco freeway revolts, more than any other corridor
I-105
the unbuilt I-80 realignment along the railroad tracks in North Sacramento/Arden, parallel to today's Business 80/Route 51

[sparker]

California:

I-710 in South Pasadena
the former I-480 in San Francisco, now demolished
the proposed I-80 extension (Western Freeway) of the 1960s, which would have continued west (along the Panhandle park) from the 1991-2005 terminus of the Central Freeway to the unbuilt original I-280 alignment paralleling 19th Avenue in Golden Gate Park. IIRC this was the primary focus of the San Francisco freeway revolts, more than any other corridor
I-105
the unbuilt I-80 realignment along the railroad tracks in North Sacramento/Arden, parallel to today's Business 80/Route 51

And............to roadgeeks only............I-238!

[TBKS1]

I think for Arkansas, it's probably either I-49 or I-30. Although I-40 is the longest in the state, I haven't seen a whole lot of talking about it here.

I-49 because it's still under construction, and I-30 because of that huge 10 lanes in downtown Little Rock thing, and the fact that it needs to get paved again very badly.

Although since you're from Arkansas as well, I agree that I-630 is pretty controversial as well for those reasons.

[PHLBOS]

^^I would think that the original Central Artery (initially part of I-95, then later part of I-93) and its Big Dig/O'Neill Tunnel successor (I-93) would be the most controversial Interstates in the Bay State that were actually built.

For PA (at least southeastern PA); it would have to be the Blue Route portion of I-476.  Such took a US District Court action (mainly dismissing all lawsuits brought by the road's opponents) for the highway to become reality.

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

I think for Arkansas, it's probably either I-49 or I-30. Although I-40 is the longest in the state, I haven't seen a whole lot of talking about it here.

I-49 because it's still under construction, and I-30 because of that huge 10 lanes in downtown Little Rock thing, and the fact that it needs to get paved again very badly.

Although since you're from Arkansas as well, I agree that I-630 is pretty controversial as well for those reasons.

I would also agree with I-30 (30 Crossing). The cultural impact of ArDOT's 'highway high' is also interesting. I get that we need newer transportation within Little Rock, but the historic ties in the 60's and the families that have been around for that long and even longer aren't (seemingly) being considered.

I-49 in Fort Smith is getting old to look at... I'd be 30 by the time it's complete if ArDOT doesn't get to it. I don't understand exactly why they aren't continuing with the southern half of the project, instead of waiting for a bridge to be built and then all that would be needed is a bridge to bring the two halves together.

[bzakharin]

If we were to base this on the thoughts and concerns of this group in regards to New Jersey, I-95 would win in a landslide.  And maybe in the 1970's and 80's it would win some sort of controversial award if you talked with residents of the state. 

However for most NJ residents, 95 isn't much of an issue whatsoever anymore, and it hasn't been for 30 years. Most people today aren't even aware of the history of it, and simply know it as part of the NJ Turnpike.   The more controversial interstates would probably be those that badly need work on them and have significant fast-moving truck traffic, which would land I-78, I-80 and I-287 at or near the top of the list.

I'd vote for I-295, specifically the Al-Jo Curve (the area around the I-295/I-76/NJ 42 interchange). The ongoing construction to fix it is making things worse in the short term as far as traffic and accidents are concerned.

[doorknob60]

For Idaho I have two. First would have to be I-184. I'm sure being built later on (~1980-1990) and cutting through Boise city limits (being by far the most urban freeway in Idaho) had some controversy around it.

Second would be I-90. Not all of it probably, but Wallace comes to mind. Not sure which of the two had more controversy, probably I-184 because Boise is a much larger city (though I-90 being a major route across the US means it was much more well known to non-locals).

I-84, I-86, and I-15 are all mostly (or entirely) rural and when they aren't, they kind of skirt the edge of the city (like I-84 with Boise) and are logical regional routes that simply need to exist in some way.

I wasn't around when they were being built though, so maybe someone else is more knowledgeable.

[adventurernumber1]

For Georgia, I think it might be Interstate 75.

My reasoning for choosing this is because there was some major opposition to constructing the segment of I-75 between Kennesaw and the north side of Cartersville. There is a reason that Interstate 75 makes those very awkward sharp directional curves near Acworth, GA. IIRC, Interstate 75's original routing plans called for it to go diagonally northwest, and mostly straight, across Allatoona Lake. Due to the way it crossed the lake and the land around it, there was massive environemental opposition to this routing. It took a long time for a decision to be made of what to actually do, because the opposition was so intense. This is why, if I recall correctly, this section of I-75 in the northwestern corner of the Atlanta Metro Area was the last segment to be completed on the entire interstate, which was in the late 1970's (in its original routing - not counting the extension in Florida south of Tampa that happened later on due to southwest Florida growth). All this is why Interstate 75 goes due west through the Atlanta suburb of Acworth. It is possible that this may be the largest controversy in the building of interstates in Georgia that has happened. It definitely had some significant effects on lots of things, including a drastic change in routing, an extremely delayed completion time for this section of I-75, and more.

Even without talking about this specific controversy, I-75 may already be quite controversial, because it is at least 6 lanes throughout almost the entire state, it has a large abundance of billboards and development along it, and there is always more work (resurfacings, widenings, other things) that needs to be done on it.

Some other Georgians would have to confirm if the state's most controversial interstate is in fact I-75.

[1995hoo]

In VA? Probably I-81, or the widening thereof.

The City of Richmond reeeeeeally didn't want I-295 (or VA 288), either.

I might have gone with the portion of I-66 inside the Beltway as an historical matter, given how Arlington held it up and forced the Coleman Decision, and I guess now the media want to make the HO/T operations into a big controversy. Arlington fought like heck against that road.

I suppose the other 64 miles were less controversial, though.

[US 89]

In Utah, 2 of the 5 interstates have had some level of controversy associated with them: I-70 and I-215.

The southeastern quadrant of I-215 was challenged by citizens and environmental groups, resulting in a long legal battle that delayed the completion of the route from the mid 1970s to 1989. In the end, the proposed alignment was moved to the south, and a proposed cloverleaf interchange at Highland Dr was changed to a diamond with an extra flyover ramp. In addition, the portion west of I-15 was also criticized for being placed too close to other major arterials like Redwood Rd, and it is only 2.5 miles west of mainline I-15, somewhat reducing its effectiveness as a bypass route.

I-70 was also controversial, given that originally it was supposed to follow the US 6 corridor northwest from Green River through Price to I-15 at Spanish Fork (providing a direct Interstate connection between Denver and Salt Lake City). The federal government, however, decided that I-70 would be more useful as a Denver-LA highway, routing it southwest from Green River through Richfield to Cove Fort (where it runs today). The state attempted a compromise where I-70 would run slightly further north in order to serve more cities in Emery County, but that was blocked as well, resulting in the final routing.

[nexus73]

In Oregon the never-built Mount Hood Freeway likely takes the cake for most controversial freeway.  The latest big brouhaha was replacing the Interstate bridges on I-5 crossing the Columbia River. 

Rick

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Minnesota: I-94 on St. Paul's west side. It was routed directly through a thriving black neighborhood, pretty much resulting in its complete destruction. The city of St. Paul gave a public apology for this action a couple years ago and numerous monuments and an annual festival commemorate the neighborhood that was lost.

One could argue that it was the section of 35E in St. Paul that was held up for years resulting in the infamous 45 MPH section, but that doesn't have the increasingly dark legacy attached.

[bassoon1986]

For Louisiana I was going to say I-49 for the current fights over the downtown paths it should take in both Lafayette and Shreveport. But I-10 probably has more. I'm sure the swamp section between Lafayette and Baton Rouge took years of environmental studies and hurdles to create. The ongoing talks of taking away the Claiborne Elevated section in New Orleans. I'd wager there was probably controversy over the swamp section west of New Orleans aka the Bonnet Carret spillway. And the current fights over what to do with the traffic snarls at the MS river bridge and I-10/I-110 split in Baton Rouge.


iPhone

[Takumi]

In VA? Probably I-81, or the widening thereof.

The City of Richmond reeeeeeally didn't want I-295 (or VA 288), either.

My choice would be I-73, but of interstates that actually exist, yes. 

[oscar]

To add to Virginia, there's also I-66 (arguably larger controversy than I-81, especially regarding initial construction)

Really just the part inside the Beltway and especially through Arlington County. The intense controversy over the initial construction was rekindled when VDOT proposed adding some auxiliary lanes (that took an act of Congress, to override the agreement limiting the highway to four lanes within Arlington County), and then again when the freeway became HO/T with the part of the tolls to pay for more widening.

In Hawaii, Interstate H-3 was intensely controversial, including claims of a "hewa" (curse) on the freeway since it passed through an allegedly sacred valley. That too required an act of Congress, to override a court decision blocking construction of a different H-3 segment. The Interstate plans were set into motion during the Vietnam War after the military groused about the difficulty of moving troops around the island (including my father, who was sent to Vietnam twice), but the war was over for about a quarter-century before H-3 was finally completed.

[Beltway]

I might have gone with the portion of I-66 inside the Beltway as an historical matter, given how Arlington held it up and forced the Coleman Decision, and I guess now the media want to make the HO/T operations into a big controversy. Arlington fought like heck against that road.

I-66 between I-495 and Rosslyn, 9.6 miles, by far the most controversial Interstate segment in Virginia.

The original eight-lane I-66 proposal inside the Beltway was blocked due to citizen opposition and a decision by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. I-66 was downscaled to four lanes (2 each way), with HOV-4 rush hour restrictions (meaning that a vehicle must have at least 4 persons onboard to legally use the highway) in the peak direction (years later reduced to HOV-3, and then to HOV-2), and with no large trucks allowed at any time.

Construction spanned from 1977 to 1982. The Vienna (K) Route (Orange Line) Metrorail extension from the Ballston Station to the Vienna Station was opened in 1986.  The Metro line was planned to occupy the median of I-66 west of Glebe Road in Arlington.