Cogswell Interchange

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by caveat.doctor

Going to make a big difference at street level here!

This is/will be a view that hasn’t been available to anybody since the 1960s!

[q12]

Here's a comparison from over a year ago to today:

[caveat.doctor]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Both involve rerouting of some urban roadways though ours is minuscule by comparison. Otherwise there is no comparison in terms of scope. I suggest you review some of the excellent episodes of the Big Dig documentaries from WGBH on YouTube. It was an eye-opener for me.

As was true in Boston's case, the jury will be out on whether or not it was an improvement (theirs proved to be one) until it is completed.

Perhaps we’re talking past each other, but as said, perhaps the closest thing we have to it, and it can be compared, Halifax’s being smaller by every measure. Those indeed are excellent documentaries - living in Boston for a period during the Dig, there was so much going on below the surface captured there that one doesn’t appreciate even seeing it in person.

Originally Posted by Wannabe Economist

The jury is definitely not still out on whether or not it was/will be an improvement. The interchange operated at half its potential traffic capacity and should never have been built at all. This was a massive dead space right at the heart of the Peninsula that will be transformed into a high-density mixed-use neighbourhood, the same as the rest of Downtown.

100%. Pretty much universally the case for any highway removal in any city centre, anywhere. Some examples of opportunities not yet fully realised (Parc/Pins in Montreal for one is a work in progress) but definitely incremental improvements in the resulting space. Even where there is some ensuing periodic vehicle congestion, the land has more value with other potential uses.

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

This is/will be a view that hasn’t been available to anybody since the 1960s!

Gritty to pretty!

Originally Posted by q12

Here's a comparison from over a year ago to today:

Hopefully some plaques/markers of this evolution will be part of the design, so the lessons learned here for transportation and urban planning (like at the Big Dig) are captured and remembered by future residents.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Wannabe Economist

The jury is definitely not still out on whether or not it was/will be an improvement. The interchange operated at half its potential traffic capacity and should never have been built at all.

Of course that is only because the roads connecting to it were never built. It was rather odd sequencing by the city at the time though I suppose there may have been some logic if one believes that they were proceeding in good faith on the concept of completing Harbour Drive. One cannot possibly argue that it was not needed at the time given the subsequent 5 decades of traffic congestion there.

As for whether the new configuration will be an improvement, that depends on how one measures "improvement". I agree that it will show better land use, but until I see otherwise I remain unconvinced that vehicles and buses will get through easily it at peak times. The other civic "placemaking" projects are likely not going to be winners. Many opportunities missed.