Freeway Caps

Map of proposed freeway cap over Atlanta freeway

Atlanta Freeway Cap Among Reconnecting Communities Awards

The infusion of $1.1 million in federal funding helps move the project along, but the total cost remains far beyond the city’s current budget.

March 2, 2023 - Urbanize Atlanta

Denver Cap Park

I-70 Expansion—Toll Lanes and Cap Park Included—Wrapping Up in Denver

The Central 70 Project is well underway in Denver, with a public-private partnership completing major changes to the interstate freeway where it cuts through the city.

June 16, 2022 - Denverite

The Washington St Bridge in Minneapolis is shown with downtown Minneapolis in the background.

Minnesota Republicans Kill Passenger Rail, Freeway Cap Projects

Republicans in the Minnesota State Senate blocked the planning of a proposed passenger rail route between Duluth and the Twin Cities in addition to a plan for a freeway cap in a historically Black neighborhood in St. Paul.

May 19, 2022 - MPR News

A children's play area is busy with kids and their parents in Downtown Dallas.

Urban Highway Removal: 4 Considerations for Reknitting a City’s Fabric

Making the right decisions to create a positive urban legacy.

March 20, 2022 - Margaret Newman

New Orleans Freeway

How Federal Funds Can Benefit Freeway Removal Projects

The recently passed infrastructure bill dedicates $1 billion to freeway removal and capping, but the sum is only a 'first step' toward redressing the injustices perpetuated by urban highway projects.

December 16, 2021 - Streetsblog USA

Bonaventure Expressway

How Highway Removal Can Benefit Cities

Cities across the country are reevaluating the impacts of major highway on neighborhoods and looking for ways to revitalize and reconnect communities.

June 1, 2021 - The New York Times

Freeway Cap Park

Take a Look at Midtown Atlanta's Proposed Freeway Cap Park

Inspiration for the cause of putting a 25-acre park on top of a 14-lane freeway.

April 26, 2021 - Urbanize Atlanta

Interstate 84

Undoing the Destructive Legacy of Hartford's Interstates

A new plan would spend an estimated $17 billion to remove a huge chunk of the Interstate Highway System's footprint in Hartford, Connecticut.

March 26, 2021 - The CT Mirror

Proposed Midtown Connector plan

Atlanta Weighs 'Midtown Connector' Freeway Cap

The billion-dollar project would create a 25-acre park and 3.5 miles of new bike and pedestrian routes.

February 23, 2021 - Urbanize Atlanta

Dallas Freeway Removal

Reimagining the Urban Freeway

With the new administration placing racial justice and equity at the forefront of transportation policy, will America finally reckon with the legacy of its freeways?

February 11, 2021 - Common Edge

The Stitch

3 Freeway Cap Projects Designed to Undo the Racism of the Past

A trio of freeway cap proposals around the country—in St. Paul, Atlanta, and Austin—embody the potential of infrastructure change to undo the mistakes of the past.

October 8, 2020 - UrbanLand

Richmond 300 Cap Park Plan

Richmond 300 Plan Update Includes New Cap Park, Form-Based Code

Richmond, Virginia is hoping to make some big changes in time for its tricentennial in 2037, including a new cap park and a new form-based code.

July 7, 2020 - Richmond BizSense

Seattle C.A.P.

I-5 Freeway Lid Plans Take Step Forward

A plan to build a cap over Interstate 5 in Downtown Seattle has taken a small but significant step forward.

September 30, 2019 - The Urbanist

The Stitch

Keeping the Dream Alive of a Downtown Freeway Cap in Atlanta

Advocates and experts are still working to further the idea of capping a Downtown freeway connector in Atlanta—a project called "The Stitch."

February 21, 2019 - Curbed Atlanta

Seattle Stadiums

Seattle Releases RFP for Lid I-5 Study

The plan to top I-5 in Seattle with a cap park—what writer Natalie Bicknell calls "the most ambitious effort in our region"—is moving ahead with a $1.5 million feasibility study.

January 3, 2019 - The Urbanist

Seattle, I-5

Visions for Lidding I-5 in Downtown Seattle

The notion of fully capping I-5 as it runs through central Seattle has been gaining steam. The city could stand to gain hundreds of acres of urban land.

October 10, 2018 - Crosscut

I-10

Santa Monica to Plan for a Freeway Cap Where the I-10 Meets the Pacific Coast

The terminus of the I-10 freeway is a 7,000-foot concrete trench across the heart of Santa Monica. The city's new downtown plan calls for a cap, and a new master plan will hammer out specifics.

January 12, 2018 - The Architect's Newspaper

Klyde Warren Park

Taking Back Highway Airspace: It's Happening

Building over highways is not a particularly new idea, but it has been a rare novelty. Former SPUR director and development consultant Jim Chappell sees a brighter future for highway caps parks and projects.

May 6, 2017 - UrbDeZine

Presidio Park

San Francisco's New Park, Built Over a Viaduct

Designed by the same landscape architect behind New York City's High Line, a new park will cap San Francisco's Doyle Drive, connecting the Presidio to the shoreline.

May 2, 2016 - The Atlantic

Highway Construction

Denver's I-70 Expansion Undercuts Alternatives

To fund a wider I-70 on its route through Denver, the regional planning commission set aside $50 million in federal funds before considering other projects.

May 14, 2015 - Streetsblog Denver

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

HUD’s 2023 Innovative Housing Showcase

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

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