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Wednesday, January 17, 2018

The Saga of (New) Freeway Construction These Days

My country is planning to build Yangon Metro Freeway around Thilawa SEZ to nearest International Airports. Here is the good example issues when building freeways these days. I prefer expand or converting (e) large roads, (e) boulevards into Freeways. That will save cost and time big time, and you get instant freeway system. I believe in idea that will overtake infrastructures in much more developed countries in a short run. Here is the most recent example that will guide you thru how long it will take to build one short freeway these days

Interstate 105 (I-105) is an Interstate Highway in southern Los Angeles County, California that runs east–west from near the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Norwalk. It is officially known as the Glenn Anderson Freeway for the Democratic California politician who advocated its construction. I-105 has also been referred to as the Century Freeway.

The Los Angeles Metro Rail Green Line runs in the median of nearly the entire length of I-105. The Green Line's eastern terminus is at Norwalk, at the interchange between I-105 and I-605; two miles from the western end of the freeway, the Green Line separates onto its own right-of-way at Aviation Boulevard, splitting into two branches: one turning south towards Redondo Beach and one (currently under construction, scheduled to open in 2019) heading north towards LAX.

Interstate 105 was an integral part of a Caltrans 1960s master plan for the Southern California freeway system, but did not open until 1993. The right-of-way was included on several early highway plans since at least 1947, although it was not named the "Century Freeway" until 1956, and was numbered Route 42. In 1965, the Century Freeway was added to the state system originated at State Route 1

The route was designed between 1968 and 1972, but opposition from some of the communities through which the right-of-way would pass slowed the process and led to some reroutings. Many factors contributed to the delay. The growth of the environmental movement in the 1960s created resistance to new freeway construction. Fiscal difficulties brought about by the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and the California tax revolt of the late 1970s further hampered Caltrans' construction efforts.

However, the major source of resistance to the freeway's construction was community opposition and the side effects of these demands. By the early 1970s, most of the areas in the freeway's path (and thus slated to be demolished) were predominantly African-American. Resentment over previous freeway projects' effects on other black communities resulted in significant modifications to the original route. Most cities along the way, weary of the noise and visual blight created by elevated freeways, demanded that the route be built far below grade in a "trench." Also another source for resistance to the freeway's construction was that much of the areas along the I-105 path was going to be built in low income, high crime neighborhoods, which also delayed the freeway's construction until the crime in the areas went down.

Norwalk, opposed to the freeway's proposed route through the center of the city, blocked the route from reaching its intended terminus at the Santa Ana Freeway; however, Caltrans had already decided to abandon that section due to the inability of the severely congested Santa Ana to accommodate any more traffic. The freeway eventually replaced Imperial Hwy State Route 42), which roughly paralleled the freeway.


One the early morning in 1993 (33 years later from drawing board design stage), the Century Freeway was opened, then US Vice President Al Gore announced " Let the rubber meets the asphalt" then suddenly, I heard "Vroom" Cars just started driving on 105 Freeway

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