Editorial

I-91: Imagine the Possibilities

State and city officials went public recently with reports that the elevated section of I-91 that slices through downtown Springfield is in very poor condition (that’s not a news flash) and in need of repairs and rebuilding that will cost north of $400 million (that is news — and a very big number indeed).

These revelations have led to some early speculation — or daydreaming, depending on your point of view — about possibly making this a surface road or perhaps even taking that stretch of the highway and putting it underground, like Boston’s Big Dig. Neither of these options is very likely, due largely to the nightmarish delays and cost overruns that made two three-letter words, ‘big’ and ‘dig,’ synonymous nationally and internationally with ‘disaster.’

But it would be nice to dream.

That’s because this stretch of I-91, like many of the highways built in the ’50s and ’60s as part of the Interstate Highway System, helped link cities, while also destroying much of their fabric. Inspired by urban planners such as New York’s famous (and infamous) Robert Moses, highways such as I-91 helped suburbanize America while also accelerating the demise of once-proud urban centers — like Springfield.

I-91 made the city more accessible than ever before. But that accessibility came with a steep price. Some thriving neighborhoods, especially the South End, were cut in two, with many homes, businesses, and parks destroyed to make way for the highway. Indeed, in the days after the tornado that touched down in that neighborhood 16 months ago, many long-time South End residents and business owners said that was the second disaster to befall the area, with I-91 being the first.

The new highway took people to Springfield, but it also took them right through it and on to other destinations, such as the Holyoke Mall, downtown Northampton, and Hartford, and it would be fair to say that there has been more of the latter than the former, and this has been one of many factors that have contributed to Springfield’s decline over the past 45 years and only modest recovery.

But it is also I-91 and other connecting highways, such as I-291 and the Turnpike, perhaps more than other factors, that have made Springfield the first choice of three companies that want to win the coveted license for a Western Mass. resort casino. People would like to think the city’s quality of life, available real estate, and the fact that its residents will likely support a casino have made the idea popular, but the bottom line is, what makes Springfield attractive is that you can get there — and very easily — from just about anywhere.

Unless something miraculous happens and the state becomes willing to take on another project like the Big Dig, it seems certain that the elevated section of I-91 will be subject to an endless string of patch jobs designed to lengthen the road’s useful lifespan. This will lead to more disruption downtown (recent potholes have caused huge traffic tieups) and perhaps two or three more decades of the status quo.

It will also mean many more years of trying to find ways for Springfield to thrive in spite of the highway. Efforts to date have not been very successful, although the riverfront is much more vibrant than it was decades ago and a casino promises to bring thousands of people to the city each day to at least gamble for a few hours.

According to local legend, the original plan was to put I-91 on the west side of the Connecticut River, but some powers that be decided that this wasn’t prudent, practical, or both. Springfield has had to coexist with the highway ever since, and for the most part, it has suffered due to its existence.

While daydreaming about removing the eyesore from the landscape, city and regional officials will likely have to make do with finding more ways to leverage the road as an asset and live with its drawbacks.

Because it’s highly unlikely there will be an opportunity to live without it.