North Houston Highway Improvement Project

Details for Houston Interstate Project Remain Hazy
With the project still under federal investigation, local and state agencies say they are moving forward with the development of design details for the contentious freeway redesign.

Halted Interstate Expansion Could Proceed in Houston
Local and state officials have come to an ‘historic’ agreement that could move the stalled project forward.

Proposed Park Yet Another Hurdle for Houston Interstate Expansion
The Interstate 45 widening project, halted by a federal order and opposed by many local officials and organizations, could hit a new snag if White Oak Bayou becomes a city park.

The Case for Urban Highway Removal
Instead of removing urban freeways, which have proven to be destructive to communities and economies—in some cases deliberately so—many cities are expanding freeways in and around cities.

Houston Apartments To Be Demolished for Freeway Widening
Despite a federal hold on the controversial freeway widening project, the Texas Department of Transportation is pushing ahead with the demolition of an apartment complex in downtown Houston.

A Freeway Rebellion Rises in the Unlikeliest of States: Texas
“There’s no train, there’s no bus, there’s no anything that supports mass transportation. It doesn’t exist.” -Houston resident Fabian Ramirez.
Cost Estimates Go up for Houston Freeway Project
The contentious reconfiguration of Interstate 45 is now estimated to cost $274 million more as the project faces community opposition and a federal investigation.
Contentious Houston Freeway Widening Project Inches Forward
Federal officials have given TxDOT the go-ahead to resume work on a small portion of a controversial interstate widening project in downtown Houston.

Infrastructure and its Discontents
The significance of the Biden administration's expansive view of infrastructure is reflected in the flood of commentary published in the week since the public's first look at the American Jobs Plan.

TxDOT Faces Lawsuit from Harris County Over I-45 Plan
The lawsuit over the controversial I-45 project, which has been plagued by local opposition, calls for a new environmental review.

TxDOT Approves I-45 Widening Despite Local Opposition
Despite every manner of local opposition, the Texas Department of Transportation is pushing forward with a plan to widen Interstate 45 north of the city of Houston, demolishing and displacing thousands of homes, businesses, and community facilities.

Fifth Ward Residents Oppose Houston's Interstate Expansion
The downtown freeway expansion will displace thousands of housed and unhoused residents and hundreds of small businesses.

Environmental Study Released for $7 Billion Houston Highway Project
The final environmental impact statement for the controversial North Houston Highway Improvement Project is available for public comment, courtesy of the Texas Department of Transportation.

Interstate 45 Realignment Would Cut Through a Historic Black Neighborhood in Houston
A plan to realign Interstate 45 in Houston has been criticized as a highway boondoggle as well as a failure of racial and social equity, and recent protests have only amplified the latter criticisms of the project.

I-45 Widening Plan Nears the Finish Line in Houston
The public is getting a chance to give feedback on the city's proposed changes to a project that would realign and widen Interstate 45 near downtown Houston.

Speck: Don't Widen I-45 in Houston
Jeff Speck, planning consultant and author of Walkable City, writes an opinion piece for the Houston Chronicle to oppose the plan to widen the I-45 freeway in Houston.

A Houston Columnist Celebrates Japan's Transit Infrastructure
The paper of record in a Texas oil town is a surprising place to find an article singing the praises of a society built on public transit instead of the automobile.

How a Freeway Widening Project Will Reshape Houston
The environmental impact report for the North Houston Highway Improvement Project is still underway, after 15 years of planning, but it's not too early to imagine the consequences of this massive project.
New Houston Mayor Calls for a Paradigm Shift in Highway Planning
On the heels of the #NoNewRoads campaign, new Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner gave a "rousing" speech calling for the state of Texas to change its thinking about highway widening projects.
Calling for the Removal of Houston's Pierce Elevated Freeway
Houston's Pierce Elevated, a section of the I-45 freeway, is the latest target in the movement to remove urban freeways.
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