Freeways have long embodied some of L.A.’s most powerful contradictions: a city moving ahead boldly into the future and a sprawling metropolis scarred by its dependence on the automobile. Such contradictions are not merely a matter of opinion but were built into the fabric of this complex public works enterprise. Matthew Roth, Ph.D., discusses the origins, engineering, and political back story of L.A.’s “concrete utopia.” He’s the historian for the Automobile Club of Southern California.