Created Equal: What will the future hold for I-375 in Detroit?
Wayne County Executive Warren Evans joined the show to discuss where current plans stand, and how these decisions will shape the future of I-375.
A rendering of a boulevard that MDOT is proposing to replace I-375.
The I-375 Reconnecting Communities project is an attempt to repair the wrongs that were done when construction of the freeway began in 1954. Voices across metro Detroit continue to weigh in on the current plans, and how much they come up short.
On this episode of Created Equal, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans joined the show to discuss where current plans stand, and how these decisions will shape the future of I-375.
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When it comes to projects like I-375 Reconnecting Communities — and getting the community involved with the help of the county — Evans describes it as a chore. Building facilities like the criminal justice complex was a significant outreach to the community, but at the same time, he believes intentions of the project to “right the wrongs of the past” are insulting.
“There was nothing definitive in there that would make any reasonable person think that anything was going to be done for the purpose of repairing the past,” said Evans. “You repair the past by doing things that make for opportunities for people of color whose community was destroyed 60 or 50 years ago, and I don’t see it as much different now. I have not been deep enough in the project to determine whether the practical aspects of raising 375 or not make sense.”
Listen to Created Equal with host Stephen Henderson weekdays from 9-10 a.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand.
