Freeway Fighters

n February, the government of Wales announced that it was scrapping all major road-building projects. The move came after a year-long “roads review” in which a government-appointed panel systematically reviewed the nation’s road-building program in light of its climate and environmental goals. To an American steeped in our highway-happy, boondoggle-building transportation policy system, the summary of the roads review reads like something out of a particularly good fantasy novel. But could it happen here, too, if the people lead the way?

Oklahoma’s freeway fighters are resting a little easier this week, having learned that the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) is halting all work related to the $15 billion turnpike expansion, ACCESS Oklahoma.

America is at a watershed moment in the fight to heal the harms of urban freeways that tore apart predominantly BIPOC and low-income communities, a new report argues — but what that healing will look like, exactly, is still an open question. 

What’s the pathway to ensure the groups on the frontlines of the freeway fighting movement successfully cross the finish line, and don’t have to wait years or decades to do so? Transportation for America and America Walks recently surveyed organizations fighting freeways all across the country to get a better sense of what they need to win, and the results are both inspiring and daunting.