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Highways

The 1963 Report Where DC Begged Washington to Pave Over the City

May 26, 2026 by ghostsofdc
The elevated Whitehurst Freeway running along the Georgetown waterfront beside the Potomac River, photographed in May 1973 by Yoichi Okamoto for the National Archives.

In April 1963, DC’s three appointed commissioners begged the federal government to build every freeway on the map: the Three Sisters Bridge, the Inner Loop, the East Leg, the North-Central. Almost none of it survived the decade.

Categories Lost History Tags 1960s, 1970s, Bridges, Highways, Transit

The 1967 Map of DC Highways That Were Never Built

May 17, 2026March 12, 2019 by ghostsofdc

In 1967 the National Capital Planning Commission mapped out the freeway grid Washington was supposed to get: a K Street expressway, a Three Sisters Bridge, an I-95 extension up through northeast. Almost none of it got built.

Categories GoDCers Love Maps, Lost History Tags 1960s, 1970s, Highways, Maps, Transit, Unbuilt Washington

Proposed Southside Freeway in Arlington: What Could Have Been

November 9, 2022October 11, 2016 by ghostsofdc
Proposed highway in Arlington

This post explores the proposed Southside Freeway in Arlington which never came to be. Learn about the 1960 proposal, the public opinion, and why the highway never came to fruition in this post.

Categories Lost History Tags 1960s, Arlington, Highways 1 Comment

Three Sisters Bridge Across the Potomac Was Never Built

April 27, 2026April 13, 2015 by ghostsofdc

The Three Sisters Bridge was first proposed by L’Enfant in 1789 and seven more times after that. The 1967 version nearly got built.

Categories Lost History, The Best Of Tags 1960s, 1970s, Bridges, Highways, Unbuilt Washington 16 Comments
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