in early eighties when Japanese car makers studied how to improve car quality , they figured that the key was to redue the number of parts. AT soem points they had 30% less parts than americal cars...

in any systmen removing uncessary pieces is the fastest way to reduc costs and improve quality ..

Our system is a patchwork built over 100 years and impossiible to manage

I like anonymaous idea to repurpose them for bus lane, rail, bike lane, etc..

It could preserve a could of freeways for motor vehicle traffic, and turn the rest into an instant "rapid transit" network using bus rapid transit that could support the redevelopment of the city. Real bus rapid transit, with grade separation and no lights, not what is being proposed here.

Three lanes and a shoulder in each direction could be a local bus lane with stations, an express bus lane, and a landscaped bikeway. There could be local stations every half mile and express stations every two miles or at major intersections, as on the IND. But with buses running rather than trade, those on the street or coming in from the suburbs (and intercity buses) could use the rights of way as well. Perhaps the Big Three would be willing to get back in the bus business, development new articulated buses to run on the reserved rights of way.

The intersections of two former freeways could be turned into traffic circles, with the massive acreage occupied by the cloverleaf turned into the center of new towns of 30,000 people each. The high quality downtown skyscrapers could be preserved and renovated into mixed-use live-work spaces, and the "mansion" area of town could be landmarked, but the rest could be redeveloped with rowhouses and small apartment buildings, at say Park Slope density, but with a bigger commmercial core in each town.

Old Detroit is deal, but the old freeways could be a real rebirth asset if used for an instant rapid transit system.

Route 29 is a surface highway between downtown Trenton New Jersey and the Delaware River. The US Conference of Mayors listed the reconstruction and realignment of Route 29 into a boulevard in their list of ready-to-go projects. They predicted it would cost $150 million and generate 1500 jobs.

The NJDOT also identified this road in their list, though the language of what exactly should be done remains quite vague. The scope is definitely different -- a larger section of Route 29 is identified and the cost estimates run only up to $5 million.