{"id":2074,"date":"2013-02-08T11:01:24","date_gmt":"2013-02-08T11:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=2074"},"modified":"2015-01-08T17:36:59","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T22:36:59","slug":"gridlock-on-boulevard-of-the-allies-the-nations-most-expensive-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/02\/08\/gridlock-on-boulevard-of-the-allies-the-nations-most-expensive-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Gridlock on Boulevard of the Allies, the nation\u2019s most expensive road"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Famous American streets include Broadway in New York City, Chicago\u2019s fashionable Michigan Avenue, Nevada\u2019s long strip of casinos on Las Vegas Boulevard and California\u2019s Sunset Boulevard.<\/p>\n

As part of his Pittsburgh Plan of 1911, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. designed the Boulevard of the Allies. The new roadway linked Downtown with Oakland and was dedicated on Veteran\u2019s Day in 1922. Its name honors the allies who supported the United States in defeating Germany during World War I.<\/p>\n

When it was built during the 1920s, the boulevard was the most expensive road in the history of the world because each mile cost $1.6 million. Pittsburgh Mayor Edward Vose Babcock dismissed warnings about the potential dangers of constructing a highway on a hillside called the Duquesne Bluff.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is anchored in the bedrock of the hill and it will be as immutable as the hills themselves, and as permanent,\u201d Mayor Babcock insisted. Time, erosion, weather and progress would conspire to prove him wrong.<\/p>\n

At first, Model Ts clogged the boulevard at rush hour. Later, cars with rounder, sleeker bodies flew across Grant Street and up the ramp that still offers a fine view of the Monongahela River and the city\u2019s South Side.<\/p>\n

More than 30 years after Mayor Babcock\u2019s remark, construction of the Parkway East and erosion weakened the road, turning its underbelly into a boulevard of broken rocks. In the mid-1950s, tens of thousands of tons of earth were excavated from the hill\u2019s base so the state could build the Parkway East, located below the boulevard.<\/p>\n

On April 27, 1978, an early morning landslide sent 500 cubic yards of shale and sandstone tumbling onto the Parkway East, injuring a motorist. Seven years later, in March of 1985, the state Department of Transportation announced it would spend $2 million to shore up the boulevard\u2019s structural stability. That work was done to prevent more rocks and earth from falling onto the Parkway East.<\/p>\n

Despite the difficulties in maintaining the highway, it still evokes an era suffused with patriotism. Flanking the boulevard at Grant Street are two fluted granite memorial columns topped by American eagles clasping a globe. A figure of Liberty, chiseled into each pedestal, is surrounded by flags, eagle wings, the oak, the laurel and the eternal flame. Frank Vittor, a prolific local sculptor, created the columns.<\/p>\n

To see how the boulevard has changed, go to the PG\u2019s Pittsburgh Then and Now<\/a><\/strong> page.\u00a0<\/em>And you can examine details of the boulevard in its early days at our Zoom<\/a><\/strong> page.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of his Pittsburgh Plan of 1911, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. designed the Boulevard of the Allies.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesGridlock on Boulevard of the Allies, the nation\u2019s most expensive road<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[945],"tags":[958,1201,972,1038,1031,1049],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/tumblr_mhuu78dx801rr5swxo2_1280.jpg?fit=1280%2C998&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5072,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/03\/04\/pittsburghs-chinatown-and-how-it-disappeared\/","url_meta":{"origin":2074,"position":0},"title":"Pittsburgh\u2019s Chinatown and how it disappeared","date":"March 4, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, the only physical trace left of this community is the Chinatown Inn restaurant. 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