The Shaker Heights Highway Fight

By 1944 President Roosevelt had approved construction of an interstate highway system.  It was not until President Dwight Eisenhower took office that the nation's "super-highways" were made possible through a federal gas tax. Funds from this gas tax paid for 90% of the costs, while individual states were responsible for the remaining 10%.  In a political move reminiscent of early fascist Germany, the highways' main purpose was to quickly move military troops, supplies, and equipment.  However, there were several consequences of these new highways that were not considered until they became a reality: split neighborhoods; quickened suburbanization (white-flight); destruction of  green-spaces;  and increased tension between socioeconomic classes.

In Cleveland, as early as 1955, seventeen new interstate route locations were purposed by County Engineer Albert S. Porter (D.).Several of those proposed routes were completed, including route I-271, I-90 and I-80, but not the Clark-Lee Highway.