SAGE Featured on News 4 San Antonio: Exploring How Highway Design Has Shaped the East Side

San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside (SAGE) was recently featured in a News 4 San Antonio Waste Watch segment highlighting the organization’s federally funded study on how highway design has affected San Antonio’s East Side — and how new infrastructure ideas could help reconnect communities that were historically divided.

The story examines SAGE’s $2 million planning grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, which funds a feasibility study to explore “capping” and “stitching” portions of Interstates 10, 35, and 37. The goal: to determine whether burying or covering sections of these highways could make room for new parks, walkable corridors, and local business spaces, helping residents safely move between East Side neighborhoods and downtown.

“Historically, the residents of the East Side have not had their fair share of opportunity,” said James Nortey, CEO of SAGE. “If you can imagine taking a highway and putting it underground and covering it, the stitching would reconnect each side — making a smooth, continuous community again.”

The piece also places the San Antonio project within a national conversation, noting that similar “capping” efforts are underway in Austin, Dallas, and Atlanta as part of a broader movement to address how past infrastructure decisions have impacted neighborhoods of color.

SAGE’s study will continue through May 2026, engaging local residents, engineers, and community partners to shape a vision that balances mobility, equity, and opportunity.

Watch the full segment on News 4 San Antonio to learn more about SAGE’s ongoing work to reconnect the East Side and reimagine its future:
🎥 Watch the full Waste Watch feature

Video courtesy of News 4 San Antonio. Image credit: SBG San Antonio / San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside, Inc.