Traffic Stuck On Detroit's Dated Freeways

Transportation engineers failed to predict the movement of jobs in the metropolitan region, causing suburban job centers to go unserviced.

1 minute read

June 11, 2004, 10:00 AM PDT

By Jeffrey Goodman


Detroit's traffic situation teaches us the value of predictive planning rather than cookie-cutter replication. Built in the traditional 'spokes-on-a-wheel' pattern of 1970s freeways design, engineers failed to appreciate that the collapse of the urban core would push jobs to the suburbs. Today, Michigan cannot build new roads because it has to pay to maintain the existing design.

Thanks to Jeffrey Goodman

Wednesday, June 9, 2004 in The Detroit News

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