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Highway History

The D.C. Freeway Revolt and the Coming of Metro

By Richard F. Weingroff
Federal Highway Administration

While writing "Busting the Trust: Unraveling the Highway Trust Fund 1968-1978," posted on the Highway History Web site (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwayhistory/busting_the_trust.pdf), I kept coming back to the story of freeways in the Washington area. I told as much of the story as I needed to in the article, but decided to write a separate monograph on the complex subject.

It took longer than expected, but having moved to Washington in 1973, I was interested to learn the story behind the area's transportation system. Many large cities had similar battles, but the District of Columbia's constitutional status made the DC Freeway Revolt unique because of frequent congressional involvement that no other city experienced routinely.

Richard F. Weingroff

Updated: 02/07/2019
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000