A decade-old plan to elevate a below-grade segment of Interstate 375 and replace it with a lower-speed boulevard could begin two years ahead of schedule thanks to USDOT funding.
Detroit’s plan to remove a portion of the I-375 freeway received a boost from the federal government with a $104 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, part of a broader federal endeavor to remedy the impacts of freeways and urban renewal on neighborhoods around the country. Notably, the grant was not awarded from the Reconnecting Communities Act, but from USDOT’s Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program.
According to a Detroit News article by Melissa Nann Burke and Riley Beggin, “The grant is a significant boon for the proposal, which dates to 2013 and envisions a walkable, leafy concourse integrated with the community and lined with shops, restaurants, homes and pedestrians on the eastern of edge of downtown Detroit.”
The effort is expected to cost $300 million and be completed by 2030. “The project, which already has environmental approvals from the Federal Highway Administration, would raise the roadway by 20 feet to street level, integrate it with cross-streets and landscape a boulevard past Jefferson Avenue down to Atwater Street.”
The freeway removal encompasses other projects including traffic calming measures, the removal of fifteen bridges, and new signalized crosswalks and bike lanes.
FULL STORY: Michigan gets $105M grant from feds to turn I-375 in Detroit into boulevard
More Options Presented for Minneapolis I-94 Project
Two new proposals for replacing the freeway with at-grade segments offer new visions for the future of downtown Minneapolis.
GAO: Reconnecting Communities Lacks Clear Goals and Metrics
The program, aimed at supporting highway removals and other projects that work to reverse the impacts of freeway construction, is light on accountability and performance measures, according to a new report.
Freeway Removal Projects Gain Momentum
Thanks to decades of activism and newly available federal funding, state and local governments are starting to understand the negative impacts of highway construction and working to reverse the effects on cities around the nation.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.