When Mass. halted big highway projects, making history
Routes that Governor Sargent cancelled are the Southwest Expressway and the Inner Belt.
On Nov. 30, 1972, Massachusetts Gov. Francis Sargent, a Republican, halted plans for major new highways in and around Boston, in an important turning point in American transportation history. He said in the speech:
“You, your families, your neighbors have become caught in a system that has fouled our air, ravaged our cities, choked our economy, and frustrated every single one of us…We have been caught in a vicious cycle. More cars meant more highways, which meant more traffic jams; more traffic jams meant the need for more highways, which meant more traffic jams and the need for superhighways…The side effect: billions of dollars spent and more and more cities torn apart, more and more families uprooted and displaced. Worst of all: failure to solve the problem that started it all.’’