This 1978 photograph documents local resistance during one of Arlington’s most contentious infrastructure battles—the construction of Interstate 66. By this time, the highway project had already dragged on for two decades since its 1956 proposal, with the route finalized in 1966 but construction still mired in controversy and legal challenges.
The protest captured here came during a critical period—just one year after the 1977 Coleman report had scaled down the original 12-lane design in response to mounting opposition. Led by activists like Jim and Emelia Govan of the Arlington Coalition on Transportation, residents were fighting displacement from the 1,054 parcels of homes, parks, and businesses that would be seized under eminent domain. The personal toll was severe—families lost their homes, entire commercial districts vanished, and the $275 million project divided neighborhoods. Though protesters would ultimately see some of their concerns addressed in the scaled-down design, the highway opened four years later in 1982, marking the end of a bitter four-decade battle that remains a defining chapter in Arlington’s history.
