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.

1. Milwaukee Park East Freeway

Park East Freeway in 2000 (Google Earth)

The Park East Freeway began operating in 1971 as a part of a plan to surround downtown Milwaukee with an expressway loop. Due to community opposition, the loop never happened and the Park East Freeway became a barrier dividing the northern section of downtown from the rest of the central city. In 2003, the one-mile elevated highway, which carried 54,000 trips per day, was demolished and replaced with a landscaped six-lane boulevard to help stimulate economic development and reinvestment in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Park East Freeway in 2015 (Google Earth)

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2007

2015

2007

2015

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com