Next New England

In the 1950s, the automobile was king. A new federal highway system and dreams of “urban renewal” took hold. But many of those highways are now broken and in need of repair. This hour, we look into what’s behind the rebuild of one important New England interstate, and we remember the communities we lost during the urban renewal era, including one city’s Little Italy. Later this hour, we discuss the important issues heading into this election for three New England states. And at New England’s biggest flea market, NEXT producer Andrea Muraskin finds that the people are as fascinating as the stuff on display. Getting There We’ve been closely watching proposals to build new high speed rail through the region. New routes could drastically reduce travel times between Boston and New York and points south. The Federal Railroad Administration has been considering three plans with a variety of old and new pathways for the trains. A decision on a preferred route is expected sometime this fall. A map of a portion