Blurbs Bad
1. U.S. Highway 95 Widening, Las Vegas, NV
The expansion of U.S. 95 will encourage an additional 80,000 cars per day
to travel on the highway by 2020. The road would destroy historic parts of
Las Vegas that contain historical artifacts dating from 500 AD as well as
century-old cottonwood trees. The most severe impact, however, will be on
public health. The ten-lane highway will pose an increased risk of
childhood cancer to children attending an elementary school located on the
route.
2. Hartman-Hammond Road and Bridge, Traverse City, MI
The Hartman-Hammond Road and Bridge project would destroy a pristine area
used by thousands of nature enthusiasts by increasing noise, air, and water
pollution from an estimated 27,000 cars a day that would pass through the
entrance to the town on Lake Michigan. Rather than supporting a Smart
Roads plan that costs less money and has support of local residents, the
county road commission has chosen to encourage sprawl through low-density,
poorly planned development.
3. I-69 Expansion?NAFTA highway, Indianapolis to Evansville, Indiana
The $1.14 billion highway project would close 40-50 local roads, bisect the
Patoka National Wildlife Refuge, disturb the local 495-family Amish
community, destroy 5000 acres of farmland, wetlands, and forest, and cost
twice as much to build as upgrading existing roadways. The project will
encourage low-density development and sprawl along the highway, and local
residents oppose the project in favor of a bypass highway around Terre
Haute.
4. Grand Parkway Highway, Southeast Texas
An unnecessary fourth loop around Houston will greatly induce sprawl and
traffic congestion. This project, which that would damage state parks and
green spaces, comes with a $4 billion price tag to be footed by the
taxpayers. Meanwhile, developers can't wait to start making money from
building sprawling developments in this rural area.
5. Manchester Airport Access Road, Manchester, NH
The two-mile, four-lane highway and bridge over Merrimack River would
connect the Everett turnpike with the airport. One thousand acres of
wildlife habitat, 18 acres of floodplain, 36 acres of farmland, 22 homes,
12 businesses, and perching habitat for 21 bald eagles would be destroyed.
Despite the fact that there is not public transit access to the airport, no
alternatives were considered that might have lessened the environmental
impacts.
6. Chittenden County Circumferential Highway, Burlington, VT
Ignoring public wishes for maintenance to existing roads, planners in
Burlington have pushed a four-lane bypass around Burlington that will
increase congestion and contribute to air pollution. Vermont and Chittenden
County are dangerously close to violating provisions in the Clean Air Act,
and autos account for most of the pollution. Additionally, the road will
destroy wooded habitat for deer and a recreational area for schoolchildren
and area residents. The MPO admits that the bypass will encourage sprawl
and will drain money from needed improvement projects.
7. Mon-Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway, Southwestern Pennsylvania
The 105 mile project will pull jobs from Pittsburgh's revitalized downtown
and destroy hundreds of miles of farmland, watersheds, streams, and lakes.
Five miles of coastline along the Monogahela River will disappear, and
sprawling developments will spring up on the rural 135-mile corridor. The
state can only raise 1/3 of the funding, leaving federal taxpayers with a
$2 billion-plus bill.
8. U.S. 395 North Spokane Corridor, Spokane, Washington
A new seven-mile long freeway running north from existing I-90 to a
semi-rural portion of the county will increase traffic and deteriorate air
quality in the Spokane valley. Thousands of homes and businesses in
historically low-income and minority communities will need to be demolished
for construction. And revisions to Growth Management boundaries will
pressure politicians to allow expansion and development along the corridor.
No other land-use plan in the region will as blatantly insure the loss of
farmland, wetlands, and forested areas.
9. Raleigh Outer Loop, Raleigh Metropolitan Area, NC
The project will create an all-new road through currently undisturbed land.
Developers and realtors plan to construct sprawling projects, and have been
selling property in anticipation of the loop. Conversations about
alternatives have been suppressed, and the negative impacts for air and
water quality, open space, congestion, health, and loss of downtown
vitality have been ignored.
10. Upper Manatee River Road, Manatee County, FL
The 6-lane road and bridge project will create a new road, pave over Fort
Hame, ruin part of the Upper Manatee River, and encourage sprawl around
Tampa and St. Petersburg. An additional 40,000 cars a day will travel
through the area, causing potential harm to area children as they ride
their bikes and play outside.
11. Paving of Forest Road 600, Talladega Mountains, Alabama
Restoring Forest Road 600, which runs along the southern edge of the
Appalachians, as a biking/hiking trail would create the largest expanse of
roadless wilderness in Alabama. However, the Forest Service is not
maintaining the dirt road because they want to have it paved as a "scenic
highway." The "road" goes through some of the last old-growth forest in
the state, and paving it as a scenic highway would split the wilderness
area and bring more traffic, pollution, and trash to the area. Several
unique species live in streams near the road, and paving would endanger
their habitat.
12. Highway 840 Loop, Nashville, TN
The $1 billion loop around Nashville would encourage sprawl and destroy the
rural landscape in the middle of Tennessee. The loop would do little to
relieve traffic congestion in Nashville, and the road is not needed to
increase the economic growth taking place in the region. Due to
insufficient environmental review and alternatives analysis, local citizens
have won an injunction against further construction on the southern half of
the loop until better environmental studies are concluded and alternatives
examined.
13. South Lawrence Trafficway (SLT), Lawrence, KS
Three of the four proposed routes of the South Lawrence Trafficway would
run through the 583-acre Baker Wetlands, which include 40 acres of virgin
prairie. The wetlands also hold historic importance for Native Americans,
prompting examination for inclusion in the National Registry of Historic
Places. Kansas DOT has yet to establish a need for the SLT, and they admit
it will not ease congestion. Kansas ranks 4th in the nation for number of
highway miles, although it is 34th in population and 15th in size.
14. South Mountain Corridor, Phoenix/Ahwautukee, Arizona
Ahwautukee is south of Phoenix and separated by South Mountain and Estrella
Mountains. A planned highway to run between the mountains and connect
Phoenix with Ahwautukee would spur suburban sprawl and worsen air quality
in the already smoggy valley region. The auto-oriented development of the
region will continue to destroy wildlife habitat, open space, and threaten
the sacred sites of the Gila River Indian Community. The commuter traffic
between Ahwautukee and Phoenix would be better served by a public
transportation system.
15. Northwest Parkway, Highways 93 and 72, Arvada, Colorado
The looping highway project will open up more than 11,000 acres of open
space to already planned development. Simply improving existing
infrastructure would better relieve congestion. In fact, a recent report
showed that the loop will not solve congestion and that in 20 years,
congestion will be worse because of the road.
16. U.S. Route 29 Bypass, Charlottesville, VA (central Virginia)
The proposed $200+ million, six-mile, four lane highway bypass of Rt. 29 in
Charlottesville and Albemarle County would accelerate sprawl from
Charlottesville's center and increase congestion and traffic on the Rt. 29
corridor. A potential future connection with I-83 would destroy the
pristine rural landscapes of counties surrounding Albemarle, as far away as
northern Virginia, and create a major trucking route, harming the Rivanna
Reservoir, air quality, and congestion of the largely rural region.
Community and environmental groups support a system of overpasses at key
intersections that would ease long-term congestion.
17. WIS 164 Widening, Waukesha and Washington Counties, WI
The proposed widening of WIS 164 in a glaciated area of farmland and
forests will encourage sprawling subdivisions threatening the farmlands and
wetlands of the region. The project would hinder efforts to expand public
holdings to complete the Ice Age Trail and to increase protection of land
in Kettle Moraine. Noise and air pollution would impact housing and
schools in the area, and speeding traffic would compromise the safety of
children and farmers. Construction on the southern end is slated to begin
in 2003.
18. Parks and Glenn Highway Interchange, Matanuska-Susitna, Alaska
The $50 million interchange will destroy habitat used by moose, birds, and
other wildlife, as well as wetlands that constitute some of the most
productive habitat for silver salmon in the state. The project will
encourage sprawl and auto-oriented development in suburban Anchorage. The
proposed $28 million rail commuter service would cost half as much and
provide a better way for the community to meet its transportation needs.
19. New York: I-90 Projects, Buffalo, New York
The $60.5 million project is the most ambitious ever undertaken by NY-DOT
in western New York, and mistakenly asserts that a community can build its
way out of congestion. The state admits that the project will only improve
the local economy during construction, while a mass transit project could
have created new jobs indefinitely. The project will worsen Buffalo's air
pollution, 35 percent of which already comes from cars, trucks and SUVs.
20. Ohio River Bridges Project; Louisville, KY and Jefferson, IN
A $22 million project to build two more six-lane highways across the Ohio
River and widen at least six more interstates in the area would destroy
open space and farmland and encourage more driving while reducing
incentives to carpool and use the limited public transit in the area. The
new bridges/road expansions would increase traffic on smaller roads
throughout the region. The project ignores the region's transportation
plan and EPA mandates that more public transit programs be implemented, and
will pollute the watershed and area air quality.
21. Route 53/I-355 Tollway Extension, Lake County Illinois
The extension will destroy 69 wetlands, several of which provide habitat
for endangered species, pollute 6,942 acres of water resources, 269 acres
of natural areas and 5,477 acres of recreational areas, and encourage
further sprawl in the delicate ecosystem. The extension will not solve
traffic congestion. An IDOT study found that traffic would increase over
75% on five major highways in the area because of the increased driving
generated by the extension.
22. I-80 to I-88 Outerbelt Corridor, Northeastern Illinois
The $500 million to $1 billion construction of the I-80 to I-88 Outerbelt
Corridor, which Illinois DOT has not identified a need for, would
contradict the transportation and land use plans of the two counties where
it would be located, as well as Gov. Ryan's prioritization of road
maintenance over new road construction. The road would cause flooding,
worsen air and water quality, and increase property taxes.
23. Paseo del Norte Extension, Petroglyph National Monument, New Mexico
Albuquerque City authorities want to build a six-lane highway through the
Petroglyph National Monument, which contains more than 6000 petroglyphs
sacred to the Pueblos People of New Mexico. The road would allow a
19,000-unit housing development to be constructed west of the park.
Construction of the road would spur suburban sprawl and destroy a place of
spiritual importance to Native Americans.
24. Louisiana Highway 3241, Bush, LA
The proposed four-lane, 20 mile highway connecting Covington and Bogalusa
would destroy 382 acres of area wetlands. The project would also threaten
the Lake Pontchartrain Basin with sprawl, and would create greater air and
water quality problems in the area. A light rail line connecting the parish
with New Orleans would better serve the rural area, yet no transit
alternatives were considered. The state has failed to conduct a study to
determine a need for this highway.
25. Corridors, Riverside and Orange Counties, California
Three proposed roads will destroy open space, endanger plant habitat and
farmland, increase congestion, increase diesel use which will harm the
health of local children, and the damming of San Jacinto River into
wetlands. The roads will connect in routes that run through the Cleveland
National Forest, which provides habitat for the endangered California
Mountain Lion. The 'roads to nowhere' only provide access to areas for
future growth and do not reach any current business centers.
26. Page Avenue Extension, Phases I-III, St. Louis, MO
Bad Alternates
1. Buffalo Gap Railroad, Buffalo Gap Grasslands, SD
Buffalo Gap is the largest publicly owned grassland in the state, and
surrounds the Badlands National Park. Buffalo Gap is home to 80,000 acres
of wilderness that house some of North America's rarest species as well as
other prairie ecosystems. The area is threatened by the expansion of the
DM&E railroad, which would bisect the largest remaining roadless area in
the grasslands and forever alter the rural character of the Gap. The
Cheyenne River habitat would also be harmed by the railroad.
2. Corridor H, West Virginia
The $1.6 billion, 100-mile four-lane highway would damage historic towns,
cut through the largest roadless section in the Eastern United States, and
encourage sprawl. Even the Federal Highway Administration has called
Corridor H "overbuilt" and "excessive." Rather than investing in job
training and education, however, decision makers are still scrambling for
funding for this road to nowhere.
Melody Flowers
Representative, Challenge to Sprawl Campaign
Environmental Quality Program
**************************************************
Sierra Club
408 C Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
P: (202) 675-7915
F: (202) 547-6009
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Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
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