PROVIDENCE: I-WAY

Beginning in the late 1990s, Providence began the lengthy process of rerouting I-195 around the southern edge of what historically comprised Downtown. Key to this project was removal of the aging, elevated viaduct structure which had cut through Downtown in the 1960s. Since the completion of viaduct deconstruction in 2016, the city has been attempting to stitch the grid back together. While this project, known as the "Iway," is a start, the city must invest more in constructing affordable housing and equitable transit in order to right the wrongs of the past and to prepare for a future not based on the automobile.