(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] Democrats led by President Biden say
now is the time to build back better.
- The American Jobs Plan will modernize 20,000 miles
on highways, roads, and main street that are in difficult,
difficult shape right now.
- [Narrator] But leaders don't just want to build and update
roads, in some cases they want highways torn down.
Democrats would like to provide funding to tear
down highways that had a damaging effect
on urban minority communities.
- Federal funds created
the damage done here and federal funds should be used
to help remedy it.
- [Narrator] Activists in cities like Tampa, Austin, Texas,
New Orleans, Detroit, and Tulsa, Oklahoma are calling
for the removal of highways that they say segregate
communities and harm minorities.
Leaders say there are many more examples like this road
in West Baltimore.
This is the Franklin-Mulberry Expressway,
Baltimore locals call it the highway to nowhere
and some policymakers want to tear it down.
The road cuts through 1.4 miles of the city
providing a speedy route for cars traveling east to west.
Like other parts of the country's Interstate System,
the road was built to provide fast access for traffic
from ports and downtown offices to the suburbs,
but locals like Baltimore City Councilman John Bullock
say it's a scar running through the city's west side.
- The reality is that you did have intact, businesses,
churches, families, community networks that were literally
torn asunder with this highway going through.
And yes, there are examples of cities across the country
and Baltimore is no different that during urban renewal
you saw the disproportionate effects in neighborhoods
that had African-American populations.
- [Narrator] Planning for this road dates back to the 1950s
when President Eisenhower called for cities to build
better connections to the Interstate System.
His goal was to give the military, traders, and commuters
quick routes through the nation.
In Baltimore the first round of demolition displaced
hundreds of families,
that sparked a wave of opposition from locals
like then City Councilwoman Barbara Mikulski who would go on
to represent Maryland in Congress as a Democrat.
- [Barbara] New government under eminent domain tucked
their house and cleared that land without any relocation
benefits but they have a fair market value in showing.
- [Narrator] Senator Chris Van Hollen is Mikulski's
successor.
- What you see here is a part of the highway that was built
decades ago but was never completed because Senator Mikulski
and other activists rallied to stop it,
and they were successful at stopping the highway
but not before this one and a half mile segment
had been built displacing over 900 people from their homes,
splitting an African American community that had been stable
and vibrant and so here you see this scar.
- [Narrator] Since then researchers have found that highways
create challenging conditions within cities.
Data collected in Baltimore suggests that air quality
is poorest and the sections of the city that are near
Interstate connections.
The Environmental Protection Agency says that poor air
quality can worsen health conditions like asthma.
The Interstate also contributed to out migration,
not only in Baltimore but in cities across the country
like Detroit.
Economists say that the highway building in majority Black
Detroit contributed to the city's economic decline.
Maintenance costs for these roads continue to weigh
on the city which filed for bankruptcy in 2013.
This form of structural inequity is what leaders
in Washington say they are trying to address.
- Too often investments have failed to meet the needs
of marginalized communities left behind.
- [Narrator] Developers today say that tearing down parts
of the Interstate System could correct a wave
of past failures.
One 2018 review of West Baltimore calls for the demolition
of two bridges at the Eastern stub of the highway
opening more land for development.
The plan says the new space could be used
for athletic fields, parks, and a new retail center.
The panel also called for the rehabilitation of vacant lots
in nearby row homes and wider sidewalks for pedestrians.
If Congress passes an infrastructure bill
the federal funding could help turn some
of these ideas into reality.
West Baltimore Community Organizer, Ashiah Parker
says she would welcome changes in her part of the city
but she wants to make sure the community has a seat
at the table.
- We definitely don't want our federal partners putting
up large condos that people aren't able,
well that current residents aren't able to occupy.
And then we also wanna make sure that economic development
is done.
So produce stores are other types of small businesses
for people who are already in a neighborhood
that can utilize.
- [Narrator] Other residents said that they would like
for the government to focus on rehabilitating homes
in the area before focusing on the roads.
The national movement to tear down highways is picking up
steam as leaders in Congress from both sides of the aisle
signal that they're open to the idea.
The movement got a boost from President Biden
when he called for $20 billion to redress inequities created
by past investments in transportation.
That's just one part of the bigger American Jobs Plan
which the White House says would cost $1.7 trillion.
Senate Republicans now say that they are open
to a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
In short, both parties want to invest more
in infrastructure but they're far apart on the details
of how it should be done.
Republican senators say they're open to using federal funds
to remove highways but they want to leave the decision
to state lawmakers.
- There are multiple examples of poor planning decisions
that have led to adverse consequences for specific
communities.
None of us denying that and I think we all agree
they should be rectified.
I believe it should be done at the local
and state level where decision-makers are closest
to the people and able to make a balanced decision.
- [Narrator] The call to fund highway removal breaks
from years of American transportation philosophy.
If a bill materializes highway tear downs could unfold
in cities across the country.
(upbeat music)