Early Proposals for I-95 & I-64?

[WillWeaverRVA]

Yes, more Richmond stuff. I live here, so I guess I should post it.

I was browsing some local news blogs and came across these newspaper scans from the 1950s. They seem to detail community proposals for what are now I-95, I-64, and their overlap through central and eastern Richmond. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot in the way of text. Basically, it proposes a freeway to run about 1/2 to 1 mile south of where current I-64 is just east of I-95, and a north-south freeway in central Richmond with an interchange at Franklin Street (and oddly enough not Main, which was/is VA 147 in that location - and yes, I know I-95 blows off VA 147 today).

Interestingly it should be noted that the proposed routing of I-64 would have destroyed a good chunk of Church Hill and Fairmount, and the apparent proposed I-95 (I'm guessing it's I-95, as it's a north-south freeway; the drawing is looking south) was a depressed freeway unlike current I-95 south of I-64. Not sure that would have worked either without destroying Shockoe Bottom.

[74/171FAN]

Wow Richmond would look much different if this had gone through and they might would be talking about tearing down the freeway now like those in Syracuse who want to tear down I-81

[froggie]

That newspaper dates from June 1950.  From what I can tell, it's revised versions of the original 1946 Virginia Highway Department study on expressways in Richmond and Petersburg.