Westway (New York)

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Westway was the name of a proposed project to put New York City's West Side Highway underground, first planned in 1972 and officially canceled in 1985. It would have involved extensive landfill in the Hudson River off Manhattan to accommodate a highway and real estate development.

Westway had the agreement of all levels of government, which is very rare. The Federal Government agreed to pledge $1.3 billion dollars to the project if ground was broken on a certain date. However, a lawsuit was filed saying the Environmental study was not complete because they did not include the effect it would have on the mating habits of the striped bass in the Hudson River. A judge ordered them to complete the study, and because the next striped bass mating season was well after the date ground was supposed to be broken for funding, the project was finally cancelled in 1985.