I've driven on 345 more than most on this board, and I can say with certainty that it functions more like a spur than anything.
You must not have actually driven on it. It is NOT a spur at all. It is a part of a through highway, US 75. The southern stretch of US 75 was renamed I-45 but it is still part of the same highway. It is the main route between Tulsa/Kansas City/northward destinations and Houston/southern destinations. You're wrong.
Just because you don't like it doesn't mean that it isn't a crucial part of the state's (and nation's) highway network. You're either very ignorant about this road or you're lying.
45 to 30 to 35E was often just as fast as 45 to 345 to 366.
But 75 south at 366 to the 45/75 interchange is much faster than taking 366 to 35E to 30 back to 45. You're moving the goalposts and talking about something that is completely different.
You don't get to put a freeway wherever you like just because you like freeways, and local communities have the right to rescind bad decisions when there are other options. Every other country in the world does just fine without ten-lane strips of concrete tearing their center cities apart.
I'm not trying to put a freeway up. The freeway has been there for 45 years. I don't know what you are trying to say by "put(ting) a freeway" up. You're the one who is wanting to change things.
You don't get to tear a freeway down just because you don't like freeways. You're selfish and hypocritical.
And the locals from the neighborhood don't get to make that choice alone. Their opinion doesn't trump (Ha!) the opinion of those who use the highway every day.
And you can't compare the US to other countries. Apples and oranges. The countries that I assume you are referring to are much smaller and more densely populated than the US. They have lots of trains in other countries. In the US, we drive on roads. If you don't like it, move to Lisbon or Prague.
And building the Central Freeway wasn't a bad decision. It was a no-brainer.
I don't understand why you freeway haters think it's OK to have a 1 mile gap in a major artery that not only serves the neighborhood, not only the city, not only the county, not only the metro, not only the region, not only the state but the entire country just because you don't like looking at it. Oh, your poor little eyes are so mistreated having to look at that big mean bully freeway. My heart cries for you.