More than five decades ago, a diverse group of neighborhoods defeated the Crosstown Expressway, which would have bulldozed 6,000 homes along South and Bainbridge Streets, wrecking vibrant business districts and the largely Black neighborhood of Hawthorne. Here are some milestones of the proposal:

1930

1946

1966

1970

1972

City planners begin discussing the need for a “ring road” of highways around Center City.

Robert Mitchell, executive director of the city Planning Commission, “picked up a pencil and drew a line across a map,” as he later said. It became the Crosstown.

The state highway department informs residents that properties — many in the largely Black Hawthorne neighborhood — will be razed.

South Street Renaissance organization of artists, hippies, and activists join the Crosstown opposition.

A new plan from Mayor Frank Rizzo envisions a six-lane “depressed” expressway, with a cap to hold 10,000 high-rise housing units and 14,000 parking units.

1957

1962

1964

1967

1974

Officials designate the planned route as an eventual piece of the interstate highway system. It would be called I-695.

City transportation officials release the design plan for the Crosstown. It would cost an estimated $106 million and be completed in 1965.

Public hearings on the proposed expressway turn raucous when the formal plan is released.

Democratic Mayor James Tate, in a brutal reelection fight, opposes the expressway he had pushed, which helps him win.

The east-west expressway project is formally deleted from federal and state plans.

Epilogue: In 2023, PennDot invited the public to review and comment on a plan to reconstruct the southern stretch of I-95 in Philadelphia to widen lanes and spread out interchanges so they take up more land. The fixes are necessary for safety, officials say. Residents are fighting the plan. Construction would begin in the 2030s.

More than five decades ago, a diverse group of neighborhoods defeated the Crosstown Expressway, which would have bulldozed 6,000 homes along South and Bainbridge Streets, wrecking vibrant business districts and the largely Black neighborhood of Hawthorne. Here are some milestones of the proposal:

1930

City planners begin discussing the need for a “ring road” of highways around Center City.

1946

Robert Mitchell, executive director of the city Planning Commission, “picked up a pencil and drew a line across a map,” as he later said. It became the Crosstown.

1957

Officials designate the planned route as an eventual piece of the interstate highway system. It would be called I-695.

1962

City transportation officials release the design plan for the Crosstown. It would cost an estimated $106 million and be completed in 1965.

1964

Public hearings on the proposed expressway turn raucous when the formal plan is released.

1966

The state highway department informs residents that properties — many in the largely Black Hawthorne neighborhood — will be razed.

1967

Democratic Mayor James Tate, in a brutal reelection fight, opposes the expressway he had pushed, which helps him win.

1970

South Street Renaissance organization of artists, hippies, and activists join the Crosstown opposition.

1972

A new plan from Mayor Frank Rizzo envisions a six-lane “depressed” expressway, with a cap to hold 10,000 high-rise housing units and 14,000 parking units.

1974

The east-west expressway project is formally deleted from federal and state plans.

Epilogue: In 2023, PennDot invited the public to review and comment on a plan to reconstruct the southern stretch of I-95 in Philadelphia to widen lanes and spread out interchanges so they take up more land. The fixes are necessary for safety, officials say. Residents are fighting the plan. Construction would begin in the 2030s.