Scotty Baesler, who was mayor of Lexington during most of the construction phase, argued in a 2007 interview with the city's daily newspaper, the "Lexington Herald-Leader", that much of this criticism was either unfair or the result of misconceptions. For example, he pointed out that Man o' War was not designed as a limited access freeway like the city's inner beltway, New Circle Road, a highway to which many unfavorably compare Man o' War—it was intended as an urban arterial. He also added,