American highways are so expensive that cities are tearing them down — here’s what they’re turning into

Throughout the 20th century, highways were key generators of economic growth for American cities. They allowed commuters to quickly travel between urban centers and the suburbs, unclogged traffic-ridden streets, and created infrastructure jobs.

But these days, investing in highways is a bad business decision for many cities.

An increasing number of cities around the US are choosing to tear down or transform parts of their dilapidated interstates, rather than repair them. These redevelopments are largely happening because old highways are costly to rebuild, according to Rob Steuteville from a DC-based nonprofit called the Congress for New Urbanism.

For the past decade, Steuteville's team has documented cities that have or are considering highway removals. He expects the trend to continue to grow.

Take a look below:

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When cities tear down parts of highways, they often transform them into boulevards, parks, and housing.

Rochester, New York demolished nearly a mile of I-490, locally dubbed the Inner Loop, in late 2017.

The highway used to sever downtown Rochester on all sides, as seen in these aerial photos which show the city before and after the Inner Loop's construction:

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