North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP)

Expanded I-45 right-of-way at Crosstimbers will destroy homes and Culinary Institute LeNotre

Displaces Households

This project will displace:

    • 168 single family homes

    • 1,067 multi-family homes, which include

        ◦ 368 low-income units

        ◦ 60 homeless veterans’ units

Displaces Businesses

The TxDOT project will displace 331 businesses, which employ 24,873 people.

Air Quality Will Be Worse

Air quality has an impact on public health. Children living or attending school near freeways like I-45 are at risk of damage to their developing brain, lungs, heart, and circulatory systems. Furthermore, a number of traffic-related air pollutants – such as diesel particulate matter, benzene, 1,3 butadiene, and formaldehyde – are known to cause cancer.

Makes Flooding Worse

TxDOT has designed the highway only for 100-year flood events (storms that theoretically have a 1 percent chance of occurring in a given year), not the tougher 500-year standard required of all other projects in Harris County and the City of Houston. More concrete and more lanes mean less water being absorbed.  TxDOT should mitigate its flooding impact and design for the storms we know are coming. 

Costs Way Too Much Money

Although not fully funded to-date, the North Houston Highway Improvement Project is estimated to cost $7-10 billion (exclusive of right-of-way purchases) to expand 25 miles of highway over a 10-year period. This road will increase the cost of road maintenance.   Because TxDOT relies on debt to build these projects, our children and grandchildren will be paying for it. 

Destroys Bayou Parks

According to TxDOT’s May 2017 Schematics, Bayou Greenway and parks impacts will mean we lose 27 acres of current open space.

How to Make I-45 Better

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Change Ramp Alignment for Parks and Open Spaces

Change column placement to mitigate specific impacts to parks and open space.

  • Reroute ramp at Freed Art & Nature Park
  • Reduce impact to south bank of White Oak Bayou
  • Increase column spacing across White Oak Bayo

Create Little White Oak Bayou Greenway

Creating a greenway trail along Little White Oak Bayou will improve connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists. The greenway should connect Acres Homes to Freed Art & Nature Park and the existing White Oak Bayou Greenway.

Improve Flooding Mitigation

Recognize that the City of Houston (COH) code was updated after Harvey to remove the clause that grandfathers existing pavement from mitigation requirement. It requires mitigation for the entire project, not just the net pavement being added. TxDOT should build to these new COH code requirements.  

Construct All Bridges to City of Houston Standard

This  will improve access for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders using bridges which cross the reconstructed I-45.   TxDOT must provide safe pedestrian-bicycle connections where traffic coming off the freeway meets city streets. In other areas, TxDOT must make sure surface street connectivity is not impaired.

  • Span across I-45 north of Airline Drive.
  • Across Airline and I-45 at Crosstimbers Street to connect to Northline Commons Stores.
  • Provide  a grade-separated pedestrian facility under I-45 and the elevated  feeder roads at CenterPoint easement near Stokes Street to connect  Theodore Roosevelt Elementary.
  • Make it safe for pedestrians and cyclist to cross under I-45 at Calvalcade.
  • Make it safe for pedestrians and cyclist to cross under North Main Street.
  • Provide  shared-use path along the west side of Bagby-Hiner Street between  Pierce and Allen Parkway to connect Midtown and Fourth Ward to Buffalo  Bayou.

Build Mass Transit

Investing in Houston's light rail and bus network will relieve freeway congestion. If highway funding is used to build mass transit instead of expanding urban freeways, Houstonians will be able to travel more miles with greater safety. 

Take Action

Community Impacts Assessment

TxDOT released an updated draft of the Community Impacts Assessment (CIA) Technical Report for the I-45 expansion aka NHHIP (North Houston Highway Improvement Project). We need your help submitting comments to TxDOT during the public comment period before February 7, 2020.


What's in the report?

The new CIA revises the 2017 assessment of how TxDOT anticipates the $7 billion, 25-mile long project will impact real people. The overall planned acreage for the footprint of the highway increased. The expanded right-of-way for Segments 1 and 2 appears to reflect additional storm water detention basins, as well as changes in existing land use and occupancy (p. 52, Section 5.1).


Let TxDOT know how you feel about the expanded footprint and demand that TxDOT take more steps to keep families in their homes, and protect our air and green space.

Read the CIA and Contact TxDOT

About the Make I-45 Better Coalition

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Members

Air Alliance Houston

Avenue CDC

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Bayou Preservation

Bike Houston

Buffalo Bayou Partnership

Citizens' Transportation Coalition  (CTC)

Downtown District

Eastwood Civic Association

Freedman's Town Preservation Committee

Friends of Woodland Park

Galveston Bay Keeper

Germantown Historic District

Greater East End

Greater Heights Super Neighborhood 15

Greater Northside Management District

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis

Heritage Society

Hermann Park Conservancy

Housing for Houston

Houston Parks Board

Kinder Foundation

LINK Houston

Lower Brazos River Watch

Montie Beach Civic Club

Montrose District

Museum Park Super Neighborhood 66

Saint Arnold Brewing Company

Scenic Houston

Trees for Houston

Memorial Park Super Neighborhood 22

White Oak Bayou Association

Winlow Place Civic Club

Woodland Heights Civic Association

...and you!


Attribution

Domain name donated by Jim Weston of the I-45 Coalition.


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