Why Tearing Down a Damaged Highway After a Disaster May Be More Financially Reasonable Than Rebuilding

03/23/23

“Why may tearing down a damaged highway after a disaster be more financially reasonable than rebuilding?”

When highways are rendered unusable from an earthquake, many peoples’ first inclination is to rebuild them. However, sometimes it might be more financially reasonable to completely tear it down. Take for example the Embarcadero Freeway. When it collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, cost estimates found that building a boulevard in its place would be nearly $20 million USD less expensive. The removal of such a barrier has also made the neighborhood more commercially viable, with shops, housing, and new jobs lining up everywhere. This just goes to show Why Tearing Down a Damaged Highway After a Disaster May Be More Financially Reasonable Than Rebuilding.

• Engineering
• Policy
• Urban Systems