First, officials in Hollywood proposed capping a portion of the Hollywood Freeway and building a park on top of it.

Then Santa Monica officials began talking about another park-cap project above a section of the Santa Monica Freeway.

Now Caltrans is reviving talk of a massive park and development project atop what is known as the Slot, the below-grade section of the 101 Freeway that runs between the Civic Center and Chinatown.

The concept has gotten less publicity than the Hollywood Freeway cap proposal, but it has been talked about for several years. And it's very ambitious. According to Caltrans, the idea would be to cap about a half-mile of the 101 just east of the 110 Freeway.

Designers have said the park project could help unite neighborhoods now divided by the freeway, which is bisected by a series of bridges. On the south is the Civic Center, Bunker Hill and Little Tokyo; on the north is Olvera Street, Chinatown and the Union Station area.