Why Philly’s highways are always under construction

[00:00:00]Will the f—ing construction on I-95 ever end?

[00:00:04]They say 2055.

[00:00:09]Philadelphia would be a different city altogether had I-95 not been rammed right through where people live.

[00:00:18]Oh, yeah.

[00:00:19]In the 1950s, the mantra was, “Cars rule, cities drool.”

[00:00:24]The interstates were at basic level intended to to evacuate the cities in case of a nuclear war.

[00:00:32]In that grim background, construction started in 1959, way up in the Northeast.

[00:00:40]And it took 30 years to finish the thing.

[00:00:44]So they tore down, you know, what was here and it just became this wall, this barrier.

[00:00:52]You can meet people in South Philadelphia that lived through it.

[00:00:56]Younger people that have stories of their parents or grandparents losing their house, having it be destroyed by the forerunner of PennDOT for this national security highway.

[00:01:11]I-95 Revive, that's its real name, began in 2009, and they'll finish it in 46 years.

[00:01:21]So by 2100, it probably will be time to talk about starting over again from the beginning.

[00:01:30]More widening here.

[00:01:33]People like it, but it never works thanks to the law of induced demand.

[00:01:38]People find out that, “Wow, there's some open road here.”

[00:01:42]They start driving on it and then the traffic expands to fill the space that's been created.

[00:01:50]The highway industrial complex always says, “Just one more lane.”

[00:01:54]Wait, what are they constructing in Penn's Landing?

[00:01:58]They're building a cap over I-95.

[00:02:01]It's going to be two blocks.

[00:02:03]The deck will be poured on here, and then there's going to be a park constructed on the top.

[00:02:09]It'll have an amphitheater, cafe, playground, and trees, and grass, and a water feature.

[00:02:18]Construction began two and a half to three years ago.

[00:02:22]It's scheduled to be done in 2029 and and then open to the public in 2030.

[00:02:29]How much does this cost?

[00:02:32]Billions and billions.

[00:02:33]PennDOT says that it doesn't keep a running tab of the cost of I-95 Revive, and that would be a long tab.

[00:02:43]Federal government kicks in 80 to 90%.

[00:02:46]The rest mostly comes from the state.

[00:02:49]But who ultimately pays? You, the taxpayer.

[00:02:54]That way?

[00:02:54]Or what do you want me to go that way?

[00:02:56]Just tell me what to do, I'll do whatever.