Highway Boondoggles

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.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” ― Upton Sinclair

"The lesson here is, Secretary Pete is not going to come in and save the day," said one highway opponent. "And he probably isn’t capable of saving the day."

“They’d discuss budgets, billions and billions of dollars — and it’s obvious who their interests are,” she says. “I was there every month and never once did I hear them say, ‘People who are living in their grandma’s home, that’s their inheritance — [we want to make sure they] are being paid equally as all the big businesses downtown.’”

The Biden administration has caved to GOP pressure and will no longer push states to repair existing highways before building new ones, a move that angered livable cities advocates.

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.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is pushing forward with an $85 billion, decade-long plan to expand the state’s highway system, despite widespread opposition and even a federal lawsuit — even if that means tearing down housing.

“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of honesty anymore [on social media], it seems like a lot of things are run through money,” one social media user said.