The Interstate Highway System, ushered in by President Dwight D. Eisenhower 60 years ago, was heralded as a groundbreaking public works project that connected the country like never before. But those 47,000 miles of federally funded pavement also decimated urban centers.

Photographer Michael DeFilippo has spent the last five months documenting freeways in his city of St. Louis . He completed the series this week, tied to the 60th anniversary, and ahead of his own 60th birthday Friday.

He says about half of the citys neighborhoods are bordered or intersected by an interstate.

I wanted to show the unintended consequences and impact of the highway on a very beautiful and vibrant city, he told The Huffington Post in an email.