The public works project that produced the freeways was like a local version of the moon shot, taking 12 years, complex planning and $2 billion, adjusted for inflation. The design that evolved was a 300-foot-wide gash in the city topography with a roadway lined by grassy embankments and trees. Robert Moses, the controversial planner who designed much of the modern road system around New York City, advised Detroit officials to sink the roadways below street level. More: Free Press Flashback: The story behind the song about making cars in ‘Detroit City’ Lodge and the Edsel Ford opened in stages during the 1950s. In 1944, a slick city publication told residents: “Of all the various projects now under consideration, perhaps none is of greater importance to Detroiters than the proposed system of expressways, wider and straighter streets, and the elimination of traffic bottlenecks.”ĭetroit was a pioneer in freeway construction, even before the federal government began paying much of the cost. Rejecting streetcars and plans for subways, officials decided that making Detroit hospitable for automobiles would be, not surprisingly, a top priority.
The big push for freeways came after World War II.
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