CityNerd | Freeway Lids / Caps / Decks: What They Are, Why We Build Them, and the Ten Best in the US @CityNerd | Uploaded January 2022 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
This week's video looks at freeway lids (or freeway caps, "cap and stitches," or freeway decks, depending what part of the US you live in!). Several regions in the US are currently looking at decking over freeways as an alternative to freeway removal, which is politically fraught. This video is a bit of a primer on freeway caps:
- What are they? What differentiates a freeway cap from a tunnel?
- Why do we build them? What are the land use, environmental, and connectivity benefits?
- Where are the leading examples in the United States (yes, this is a top ten list!)
This will be the first in a series to explore existing, proposed, and potential freeway lid opportunities, as well as whether we should be investing in these expensive structures in the first place. Stops on our exploration include:
- The Atlanta Financial Center
- Teralta Park (San Diego)
- Memorial Park (La Canada Flintridge)
- Kansas City Convention Center
- Hugh J. Grant Circle (The Bronx)
- Aubrey Davis Park (Mercer Island, Washington)
- Margaret T. Hance Park (Phoenix)
- George Washington Bridgehead (New York)
- Highway 99 Tunnel (Seattle)
- Capitol Crossing (Washington, DC)
- The Big Dig (Boston)
- Washington State Convention Center (Seattle)
- Gateway Park (Arlington, Virginia)
- Fall River City Hall
- Freeway Park (Seattle)
- North High Street/The Short North (Columbus, Ohio)
- Freeway, Rothstein, and Victoria Parks (Southfield, Michigan)
- Copley Square, Prudential Center and Back Bay Train Station (Boston)
- Various SR 520 lids (Clyde Hill, Washington)
- Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport Runway 5
- Target Plaza (Minneapolis)
- Kanawha Plaza (Richmond, Virginia)
- Old Chicago Main Post Office
- Klyde Warren Park (Dallas)
- Gate Tower Building (Osaka)
- Foglietta Plaza (Philadelphia)
Future videos will look at proposed freeway caps, such as The Stitch and the Midtown Connector in Atlanta, the Central 70 project, in Denver, the I-35 cap in Austin and I-45 cap in Houston, and others.
Other CityNerd videos referenced:
- Freeway-Lite Cities: youtu.be/5F3lZwG-BWk
- Freeway-Heavy Downtowns: youtu.be/WYsJx1urS3Y
- Ginormous Interchanges of the US: youtu.be/4rgH0MUaHx8
- Tunnels: youtu.be/POWAulNuX3Y
Resources:
- Congress For the New Urbanism Freeways Without Futures Report: cnu.org/our-projects/highways-boulevards/freeways-without-futures
- Lid I-5 Project (link to Case Studies page): lidi5.org/case-studies
- More on City of Mercer Island: mercerisland.gov/community/page/i-90-tolling-proposal-halted
Image Credits:
- Klyde Warren Park thumbnail photo by 75316serk - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88891616
Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
Contact: nerd4cities@gmail.com
This week's video looks at freeway lids (or freeway caps, "cap and stitches," or freeway decks, depending what part of the US you live in!). Several regions in the US are currently looking at decking over freeways as an alternative to freeway removal, which is politically fraught. This video is a bit of a primer on freeway caps:
- What are they? What differentiates a freeway cap from a tunnel?
- Why do we build them? What are the land use, environmental, and connectivity benefits?
- Where are the leading examples in the United States (yes, this is a top ten list!)
This will be the first in a series to explore existing, proposed, and potential freeway lid opportunities, as well as whether we should be investing in these expensive structures in the first place. Stops on our exploration include:
- The Atlanta Financial Center
- Teralta Park (San Diego)
- Memorial Park (La Canada Flintridge)
- Kansas City Convention Center
- Hugh J. Grant Circle (The Bronx)
- Aubrey Davis Park (Mercer Island, Washington)
- Margaret T. Hance Park (Phoenix)
- George Washington Bridgehead (New York)
- Highway 99 Tunnel (Seattle)
- Capitol Crossing (Washington, DC)
- The Big Dig (Boston)
- Washington State Convention Center (Seattle)
- Gateway Park (Arlington, Virginia)
- Fall River City Hall
- Freeway Park (Seattle)
- North High Street/The Short North (Columbus, Ohio)
- Freeway, Rothstein, and Victoria Parks (Southfield, Michigan)
- Copley Square, Prudential Center and Back Bay Train Station (Boston)
- Various SR 520 lids (Clyde Hill, Washington)
- Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport Runway 5
- Target Plaza (Minneapolis)
- Kanawha Plaza (Richmond, Virginia)
- Old Chicago Main Post Office
- Klyde Warren Park (Dallas)
- Gate Tower Building (Osaka)
- Foglietta Plaza (Philadelphia)
Future videos will look at proposed freeway caps, such as The Stitch and the Midtown Connector in Atlanta, the Central 70 project, in Denver, the I-35 cap in Austin and I-45 cap in Houston, and others.
Other CityNerd videos referenced:
- Freeway-Lite Cities: youtu.be/5F3lZwG-BWk
- Freeway-Heavy Downtowns: youtu.be/WYsJx1urS3Y
- Ginormous Interchanges of the US: youtu.be/4rgH0MUaHx8
- Tunnels: youtu.be/POWAulNuX3Y
Resources:
- Congress For the New Urbanism Freeways Without Futures Report: cnu.org/our-projects/highways-boulevards/freeways-without-futures
- Lid I-5 Project (link to Case Studies page): lidi5.org/case-studies
- More on City of Mercer Island: mercerisland.gov/community/page/i-90-tolling-proposal-halted
Image Credits:
- Klyde Warren Park thumbnail photo by 75316serk - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88891616
Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
Contact: nerd4cities@gmail.com
