The construction of Interstate 65 and Interstate 85 in Montgomery, Alabama, on the edge of the downtown area, took place in 1961. Built after what was called "the golden era of highway construction" in the United States, its planning and actual construction fit into an ongoing pattern of local and state governments "building elevated expressways through black districts" in many major American cities even at the height of the civil rights movement. In Montgomery, it is estimated that around 75% of the people forced to vacate their homes for the construction were of African American descent, and while it was argued that running the expressway through some poorer areas would decrease urban blight, others criticized what they saw as a blatant attempt to destroy traditionally African American n