Special Topic: Blue Route
Scope and Contents
The subseries "Blue Route files" was compiled as College litigation concerning the Blue Route was unfolding. These documents are the products of legal opposition to the proposed Blue Route construction, as well as of College coordination with other opponents to the project. The majority of these documents come from a period spanning 1975 to 1986, the period during which the College most actively opposed the construction.
Topics range from the overseeing of legal proceedings to the gathering of environmental research. Another common topic is the administration's response to alumni, donors, and community members who voiced concerns about the College's actions in this matter.
Documents include correspondence, background/reference material, bills, litigation and drafts of reports. The first subseries, Blue Route files, mostly contains information about the administration's research and decision-making regarding their opposition to the Blue Route. The second subseries, Reports, contains both drafted and finalized research reports, as well as documents arising from legal proceedings pertaining to the College's Blue Route litigation. The final subseries of clippings comes from a variety of sources and covers economic, environmental, political, and related topics on Blue Route proposals and progress.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Biographical / Historical
This collection is made up of documents surrounding Swarthmore College's challenge to the proposed construction of the "Blue Route," a portion of Interstate 476 that is also known as the Mid-County Expressway and the Veterans Memorial Highway. The project, which was begun in 1967 and concluded in 1991 (after delays caused by pushback surrounding community and environmental concerns), affected the Pennsylvania counties of Delaware and Montgomery. The College opposed the construction of the Blue Route (as originally proposed) on mainly environmental grounds, with additional concerns about traffic flow. Despite pushback from College donors and alumni, Swarthmore residents, and proponents of the project, the College maintained active opposition to the Blue Route for roughly a decade.
Find It at the Library
Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library
