Dominic Anthony Walsh
Construction on TxDOT’s long-delayed North Houston Highway Improvement project kicks off in October, and work is likely to continue for nearly two decades.
“When we’re working on construction, there’s gonna be some impacts out here, but stay informed,” said TxDOT spokesperson Danny Perez, who encouraged residents to follow the department’s social media channels for updates.
TxDOT held a federally mandated meeting to update residents on the project on Thursday. The series of meetings are required as part of an agreement between TxDOT and the Federal Highway Administration, which paused the project for two years as it investigated civil rights complaints related to displacement and pollution.
“It’s really important to get information to (Houston-area residents) because this is gonna be a long process,” Perez said. “It’s going to transform the city, it’s going to improve mobility, it’s going to make things different for the city.”
The project will add four lanes to I-45. Northside resident Randy Baxley expressed doubts about the additional lanes.
“We put more lanes on I-10 — that didn’t do anything for us,” Baxley said. “More lanes does not create less traffic.”
Katrina Cantu, from Alvin, was more enthusiastic.
“I don’t get into Houston much, but when I do, it’s a good hour, hour and a half,” Cantu said. “Considering Houston is a rapidly growing city, it’s gonna be amazing. It’s gonna be what we need.”
The “Stop TxDOT I-45” group had called for a delay in the meeting due to the impacts of Hurricane Beryl. Their letter was co-signed by housing advocacy group Texas Housers, anti-pollution group Air Alliance Houston and multi-modal advocacy group Link Houston.
“I think that Beryl obviously impacted the greater Houston area and a lot of residents in a lot of ways, and I do think that in the interest of accessibility and ensuring that the community is able to come out in full force, they should have paused the meeting,” said Taylor Laredo with Texas Housers.
Perez said TxDOT decided to move ahead because the department had already sent out multiple notifications about the meeting.
The project starts in October with the St. Emmanuel Street drainage project, parallel to I-59 on the east end of the downtown loop. That piece is expected to take three years to finish. In the spring of 2025, construction begins on the I-59, SH 288 interchange on the south end of the inner loop. That portion of the project is expected to take nearly a decade to complete.
Work on other parts of the downtown loop are staggered year to year through 2030, and the loop is likely to be under construction through at least 2037. Other portions of I-45 will be under construction through 2042.
TxDOT estimates the total construction price tag will be $9 billion, though the department is “doing an evaluation of costs escalation to elements over and above construction,” according to Perez.
“Inflation has impacted the cost,” Perez said. “That’s including materials, crews — costs that have increased over the years and inflation. So of course, over the years this project has been moved back — that’s going to impact the overall cost.”