It's been over 60 years, but at long last a missing stretch of I-95 between New Jersey and Pennsylvania has been completed. Meanwhile, disrepair threatens the rest of the system.
For eight years, Kabir Chibber writes, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has been working to close the last remaining gap in Interstate 95, bringing to completion what was once dubbed "the greatest public works program in the history of the world."
The Pennsylvania Turnpike/Interstate 95 Interchange Project, slated to open by Sept. 24, closes a gap that traces its origins "to local opposition—it was to cut through Hopewell Valley, an affluent area near Princeton—and the energy crisis of the 1970s." The project's total cost amounts to $400 million, funding the construction of six overhead bridges, toll plazas, and flyover ramps.
The project brings to a close a more hopeful era for American public infrastructure that now seems very far away as the Highway Trust Fund experiences long-term insolvency and plans to maintain "crumbling" highways remain murky.
Read the full story: The last project from America’s golden age of infrastructure is almost finished—61 years later
How One Massachusetts Governor Rejected Car-Oriented Development
Fifty years ago, Governor Francis W. Sargent nixed a proposed expressway and set in motion a transportation future for Boston that would be remarkably different from many other U.S. cities.
New Interchange Planned Along Pennsylvania Turnpike
Local leaders hope the new interchange will invigorate economic development in the area by providing easier access to the turnpike.
Trump's State of the Union: More on Infrastructure in Democrats' Response
The president spoke briefly about infrastructure in his third State of the Union address last Tuesday, urging Congress to pass the bipartisan America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had a lot more to say.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority