Table Of ContentChanging Lanes
Urban and Industrial Environments
Series editor: Robert Gottlieb, Henry R. Luce Professor of Urban and En-
vironmental Policy, Occidental College
For a complete list of books published in this series, please see the back
of the book.
Changing Lanes
Visions and Histories of Urban Freeways
Joseph F. C. DiMento and Cliff Ellis
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2013 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic
or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and re-
trieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.
MIT Press books may be purchased at special quantity discounts for business or sales pro-
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cial Sales Department, The MIT Press, 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142.
This book was set in Sabon by the MIT Press. Printed on recycled paper and bound in the
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
DiMento, Joseph F.
Changing lanes : visions and histories of urban freeways / Joseph F. C. DiMento and Cliff
Ellis.
p. cm. — (Urban and industrial environments)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-262-01858-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Express highways—United States—History. 2. Express highways—Government poli-
cy—United States—History. I. Ellis, Cliff, 1951– II. Title.
HE355.3.E94D56 2013
388.1'220973091732—dc23
2012022866
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1 Urban Freeways and America’s Changing Cities 1
2 The 1930s: Forays into the Urban Realm 23
3 Urban Freeways and National Policy, 1939–1945 45
4 Postwar Urban Freeways: Scaling Up for a City on Wheels,
1946–1956 73
5 Changing Visions and Regulations for Highway Planning 103
6 Urban Freeway Tales: Three Cities among Dozens 143
7 Conclusion and Epilogue: Urban Highways and the American
City 209
Notes 231
Bibliography 283
Index 347
Preface
When we began writing this book, we found it motivating to discuss our
concepts with a widely varied spectrum of potential readers. Somewhat
surprisingly, we found nearly everyone with whom we spoke expressed
more than a passing interest in the subject matter and seemed to find the
topic of urban highway development in the United States intriguing and
engaging. At least one reason for their interest became readily apparent:
Almost without exception, each person had a tale to tell about how a
particular urban highway had affected his or her life or the lives of people
they knew or cared for.
Some people had praise for the highways they frequented. They en-
joyed the ability to travel from one place to another rapidly and effi-
ciently (except, they would usually add, during rush hour). Their lives
had, they believed, not been negatively affected in any way. The majority,
however, had a different story to tell, one that often involved some de-
gree of frustration, anger, and loss or, at minimum, curiosity about the
choices made by highway developers who had put “that highway/on or
off ramp/overpass/bridge right near/over/around/through my city/town/
community.”
Many with whom we spoke had questions that, to their knowledge,
had never even been addressed, let alone satisfactorily answered: Why
did they put the road through my parents’ house . . . my cousin’s store
. . . my sister’s kids’ playground . . . the middle of our city? Why was it
built through the poor part of town . . . or the place in our town where
those great old houses were? Why did they choose those specific loca-
tions? Why are the roads so gigantic? Why didn’t they put the highway
somewhere else? How did they arrive at those decisions? For that matter,
who are “they”?
This volume does not purport to provide specific answers to the
questions posed by those people. It does, however, aim to present a
viii Preface
comprehensive analysis of the varying contexts in which urban highway
decisions were made over the years, the shifting understandings, per-
spectives, and methodologies that underpinned those decisions, and the
changing social, economic, and legal structures that informed, abetted,
or constrained the decision-making process. In so doing, we aspire to en-
able our readers to develop a broad-based, generalized understanding of
a complex topic—one that has had a tremendously important role to play
in shaping communities, and lives, across our nation.
Acknowledgments
This work would not have come together without the contributions of
many generous colleagues. Indispensable were the research, editing, and
organizing skills of Dr. Suzanne Levesque, whose professionalism in each
area is distinguished.
For research assistance and contributions, we wish to thank the Onon-
daga Historical Association and research librarians on the main campus
and at the Law School of UCI, with special mention of Jeremy Hufton.
Jennifer Folz of Clemson University performed admirably as a research
assistant during the final phases of the project.
Gregg Tripoli and Dennis Connors at OHA were immensely generous
with valuable historical insights and encouragement, as were Ms. Karen
Cooney and former OHA Archivist Mike Flanagan.
Portions of this study were produced as part of a doctoral disserta-
tion, completed in 1990, in the Department of City and Regional Plan-
ning at the University of California at Berkeley. The support and critical
commentary of Roger Montgomery, Judith Innes, Paul Groth, and Chris-
tine Rosen were crucial for the completion of this research. Judith Innes
deserves special thanks for her many years of encouragement and wise
counsel.
Access to the exceptional resources contained in the Institute of Trans-
portation Studies Library at UC-Berkeley was also crucial. Invaluable as-
sistance was provided by Elizabeth Byrne and the staff of Berkeley’s Envi-
ronmental Design Library. The section on Norman Bel Geddes was based
on research conducted at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of
Texas at Austin. Kathy Edwards and Gypsey Teague of the Gunnin Archi-
tecture Library at Clemson University also provided valuable assistance
in locating important books and articles.
Over the years Dr. Drusilla van Hengel and Mr. Dean Hestermann did
critical primary research work that is background to the I-105 case study.
