A freeway lid, or lidded freeway, is typically created by constructing a building or public space over a freeway. Parks and greenspaces are the most common forms of freeway lids, but convention centers like those in Seattle and Kansas City are also quite common. The Cobo Center in Downtown Detroit forms a freeway lid over M-10, as the freeway passes underneath the convention center. As Greater Downtown Detroit sees increases in construction projects and residents, the I-75 and M-10 freeways that have divided the neighborhoods should be built-over to further connect them.
There are other examples of freeway lids in Metro Detroit, such as the parks built over I-696 in Oak Park between Greenfield Road and Coolidge Highway. Future projects in Detroit may be coming soon. Crain’s Detroit Business reports that “In 2016, MDOT put out a request for proposals for what it calls the Fisher Freeway Downtown Crossings project, which in the proposal Olympia estimates to cost $10 million to $15 million.”
Bridge Liner Projects
The Ilitch family’s Olympia Development plans to widen the Woodward Avenue bridge over I-75 in order to add 9,000 square feet of retail space in what equates to an empty block between Downtown and Midtown. A similar project in Columbus, Ohio named The Cap at Union Station did the same on the sides of an overpass connecting downtown with the Short North neighborhood.
Known as a “bridge liner,” these developments on freeway overpasses effectively tie neighborhoods on either side of the freeway together. Referring to The Cap project, a Congress for the New Urbanism article noted that “many Short North businesses have since experienced a dramatic increase in patronage migrating north from downtown. The bridge liners created a seamless, pleasant connection across what would have otherwise been an extremely unpleasant highway.”
The border between Corktown and Downtown over M-10 and the line between Midtown and Downtown over I-75 could both benefit from freeway lids and/or bridge liners. Businesses will benefit financially, and communities will benefit from increased cohesion.