A freeway lid (also known as a lidded freeway, freeway cap, highway cap or highway deck) is a type of deck bridge built on top of a

controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

or other roadway. It is commonly used to create new parkland in urban areas, but can also be used to house buildings or other heavy structures like

convention center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

s. In some locations, the terms stitch or cap-and-stitch are used to describe overpasses containing widened bridges that accommodate wider sidewalks or small amenity space beside the roadway above the highway. Cities and highway departments who propose building freeway lids over highways often cite potential benefits including reconnecting street grids near highways, or providing increased access to neighborhoods harmed by

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

caused by past highway construction. Freeway lids are often criticized by highway expansion opponents, who accuse highway departments of using freeway lids to "

greenwash Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on "whitewash"), also called "green sheen", is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization's products, aims ...

" their lane expansion projects to be more palatable to the public.

Examples

Aubrey Davis Park Aubrey Davis Park, formerly the Mercer Island Lid and First Hill Lid, is a park lid covering of Interstate 90 (I-90) between West Mercer Way and 76th Avenue Southeast on Mercer Island. The park was created as to minimize the impact of I-90, op ...

, Mercer Island, Washington, US *

George Washington Bridge Bus Station The George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter bus terminal located at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan in New York City. The bus station is owned and operated by the Port Authori ...

and the

Bridge Apartments The Bridge Apartments are four high-rise apartment buildings in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. Built between 1961 and 1964, they are notable for rising from concrete platforms directly above the Trans-Manhattan Expr ...

, New York, New York *

Kansas City Convention Center The Kansas City Convention Center, originally Bartle Hall Convention Center or Bartle Hall, is a major convention center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It was named for Harold Roe Bartle, a prominent, two-term mayor of Kansas City in th ...

, Kansas City, Missouri, US *

Klyde Warren Park Klyde Warren Park is a public park in Downtown Dallas, Texas. The park is over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway, and opened in 2012. It is named for Klyde Warren, the young son of billionaire Kelcy Warren who donated $10 million to the development of ...

, Dallas, Texas, US *Teralta Park, San Diego, California, US *

Washington State Convention Center The Seattle Convention Center (SCC), formerly the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC), is a convention center in Seattle, Washington, United States. It consists of several exhibition halls and meeting rooms in buildings along Pike Stree ...

and

Freeway Park Freeway Park, officially known as Jim Ellis Freeway Park, is an urban park in Seattle, Washington, United States, connecting the city's downtown to the Washington State Convention Center and First Hill. The park sits atop a section of Interstat ...

, Seattle, Washington, US

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures by type