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The North Houston Highway Improvement Project proposes widening parts of the highway and diverting a section through the East End. (Nathan Colbert / Community Impact Newspaper)
A controversial project to expand and redirect parts of I-45 has been paused in Houston after the federal government asked the Texas Department of Transportation to step on the brakes for the second time in August.
The project, known as the North Houston Highway Improvement Project, has been developed by TxDOT since 2002. Officials from the Texas Transportation Commission – the group of five that rule TxDOT – said they were ready to move ahead with construction, but an ongoing investigation by the federal highway administration has forced the agency to hold back. The FHWA is a division of the US Department of Transportation that oversees highway construction.
“It’s crystal clear to me that TxDOT is ready to build the NHHIP, no question about it,” said Bruce Bugg, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, at a meeting on August 31. “But we can’t do it until that [Federal Highway Administration] releases the hold. “
The investigation launched in March into whether the project violates local residents’ civil rights was spurred on by public contributions, according to the FHWA. It comes amid other forms of opposition that have slowed the project down, including a Harris County lawsuit in March alleging that TxDOT did not adequately address its environmental impact.
The project has also won backers, including those who say it will reduce traffic jams, improve safety, and stimulate the economy. But opposition groups like Stop TxDOT I-45, who criticized TxDOT for disregarding affected communities when designing the project, have grown in the course of the civil rights talks.
“The resistance will only build,” said Molly Cook, an organizer of Stop TxDOT I-45. “There is an influx of new faces because of all the news … but also because they see that we are fighting for what is right.”
Project background
The NHHIP includes the addition of four managed express lanes on I-45 from Downtown Houston to Beltway 8 North. It would also reroute I-45 to be parallel to I-10 on the north side of downtown and west of the highway. 59. It would then run parallel to the Hwy. 59, south of I-10 and on the east side of downtown until it reaches existing I-45 and the highway. 59 intersection.
According to TxDOT, the $ 7.9 billion project also includes the establishment of bicycle and pedestrian zones as well as sidewalks along front streets. In addition, a section of the existing I-45 known as Pierce Elevated, which runs south of downtown between Louisiana Avenue and Highway 59, would be removed.
Several of the sections of I-45 to be expanded are among the most congested roads in the state, compiled each year by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. The 10-mile segment between Beltway 8 and Loop 610 ranked as the most congested road number 15 in 2020, while the segment from Loop 610 to I-10 ranked 17th.
The Greater Houston Partnership, which supports the project, estimates that traffic along I-45 will increase by 40% by 2040.
“We believe the project will provide an unprecedented opportunity to improve Houston transportation safety and mobility, and we appreciate TxDOT’s continued investment in the Houston area,” said GHP President Bob Harvey in an Aug. 31 statement.
In a final September 2020 Environmental Impact Statement that aims to determine how the construction will affect the surrounding area, TxDOT said the project would displace more than 1,000 residential units, 344 businesses, five houses of worship and two schools. TxDOT also said the project would improve air quality, although critics deny these claims.
In its lawsuit, Harris County alleges that TxDOT failed to disclose the project’s climate impact. In a statement released in response to the lawsuit, TxDOT officials said they look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders to address their concerns about the project.
Although some of the funds were earmarked to help affected residents relocate, opponents said the effects of the evictions will be felt primarily in black and Hispanic communities.
“The design in its current form is so harmful and so devastating,” said Cook.
Several groups have asked TxDOT to revise the design of the plan. Among them is Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who in December proposed an alternative to TxDOT that would use a narrower footprint and expand public transportation. Others called for freeway removal, a concept that would include strengthening local public transport, redesigning the bicycle system, rerouting cargo, and encouraging people to ride less.
In their investigation, the FHWA will look at how the project is likely to affect the surrounding communities – including displacement and air quality – and then examine the demographics of those affected, said Alex Kerner, a professor at the Austin School of Architecture who studies Justice in the Traffic construction.
Then the investigators will compare how the demographics of those affected are compared to the district as a whole to determine whether a “different impact” is evident, Kerner said. TxDOT then has the opportunity to explain any obvious discrimination and could possibly make concessions that would dispel concerns. How much the investigation will change the project, however, remains to be seen, said Kerner.
“The [FHWA] can put pressure on an agency to change its alternative, but at the end of the day the agency can still largely do what it wants … as long as their response isn’t arbitrary and capricious, ”he said.
Next Steps
Despite the investigation, during a vote on August 31, TxDOT decided to keep the NHHIP in its 10-year plan. According to state law, TxDOT’s 10-year plan must be updated annually.
Bugg said the Texas Transportation Commission will re-examine the I-45 project and the state of the state inquiry at its December meeting to determine what to do next. Citing the need to be responsible with taxpayers’ money, Bugg said lack of progress on the investigation could force the commission to re-examine the project.
FHWA investigators were due to come to Houston in the week of September 13 to meet with local residents affected by the project, but the site visit has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, FHWA officials said.
“FHWA continues to hold virtual meetings on Title VI complaints related to the I-45 North Houston Project,” the administration said in an email statement to the Community Impact Newspaper. “Although FHWA staff postponed the trip to Houston due to COVID-19 concerns, the FHWA virtual meetings are helping to continue our in-depth investigation.”
Discussions about what should be done in the future continued. In a September 3 statement, members of the Houston-Galveston Area Council reiterated their support for the project but also said they understand the concerns of opposition groups.
“There are still clear challenges related to this project that we must face,” officials wrote in the statement. “However, these challenges should not be seen as reasons to stop the project entirely, but as opportunities for greater engagement and more dedicated collaboration between all parties interested in developing and improving this corridor.”
Cook said the promises made by groups like TxDOT to take public feedback and work more closely with opposition groups have failed.
An online survey conducted by TxDOT in August found that 5,529 people supported the project, 2,555 people wanted it removed, and 86 people who supported the project funding but were against the proposed construction.
Supporters cited these poll results to argue that the project should continue. Opponents, however, said the survey was flawed, arguing that TxDOT had not done enough to collect feedback from those who were directly affected and that the survey was only available online and skewed participants. Others said the survey did not give respondents the full range of choices.
“This engagement process was missing a third option: keep funding, but redesign the project to better respond to community input,” said Jonathan Brooks, director of policy and planning, Transport Advocacy, LINK Houston. in a speech to the Texas Transportation Commission meeting on August 31.
Although Cook said she was disappointed with the August 31 vote, she said opposition groups had continued diligently to get the word out. At a Stop TxDOT I-45 door knock event on September 12 at Kelly Villages – a community in Houston’s Fifth Ward that would be affected by the project – many of the door knockers volunteered for the first time.
First time volunteer Daniel Angel said many of the people he spoke to that day were eager to learn more or get the latest update.
“It seems like people at every level are getting more into all of this,” Angel said.
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