The Cost of Roadway Expansion

The road fights in Baltimore hinged on numerous factors. The social points of this fight involved the communities that could be destroyed. The historic points involved that landmarks that could be destroyed. Though, one of the most important points was the cost of the road. This aspect involved the city funds that would be depleted.

The Federal government initially proposed to front the bill for 90% of the cost of roadway expansion in 1956. Therefore, the City of Baltimore was only responsible for roughly 10% of the road expansion. These estimates gathered strong initial support for the roadway expansion in Baltimore. As a result, support for the roadway became synonymous with support for progress in Baltimore.

SCAR took a different stance on the cost of the road. Instead of looking at the relatively small cost of the road, they looked at alternatives. They believed that the overall funding could be used to effectively expand public transportation.