If by “divided cities” you’re referring to the physical disruption of highway construction, the same effect happened with railroads. That’s where the expression, “the wrong side of the tracks” comes from.
Also, the expression “getting railroaded” was coined by farmers to refer to the low prices they were getting paid for their produce by the railroads, who had established themselves as a monopsony by dominating freight. The construction of highways led to competition from trucks, which took away the ability of railroads to dictate low prices to farmers.
But setting aside old idioms, American cities were already shaped by the construction of railroads in the 19th century. They were certainly reshaped by the interstate highways but that was always going to be more disruptive than any sort of growth or improvement to the railroad network because it was a newer mode of infrastructure.
Also, the expression “getting railroaded” was coined by farmers to refer to the low prices they were getting paid for their produce by the railroads, who had established themselves as a monopsony by dominating freight. The construction of highways led to competition from trucks, which took away the ability of railroads to dictate low prices to farmers.
But setting aside old idioms, American cities were already shaped by the construction of railroads in the 19th century. They were certainly reshaped by the interstate highways but that was always going to be more disruptive than any sort of growth or improvement to the railroad network because it was a newer mode of infrastructure.