Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry recently announced his desire for state funding to begin removing the Hart Bridge Expressway ramps along the downtown riverfront as early as next year. For those who may question the potential results of expressway removal, here's five before and after examples where this plan has been successfully implemented.

3. Chattanooga Riverfront Parkway

Riverfront Parkway in 2002 (Google Earth)

With the purpose of carrying truck traffic along the Tennessee River, the Riverfront Parkway was built as a four-lane freeway during the 1960s. However, Chattanooga’s industrial sector dramatically declined after its completion, making it become a physical barrier with no purpose for dividing the city’s downtown from the riverfront. In 2004, as a key component of Chattanooga’s 21st Century Riverfront Plan, the reconstruction of Riverfront Parkway into an urban boulevard and riverfront green space was completed.

Riverfront Parkway in 2014 (Google Earth)

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