FHWA Lifts Hold on $9.7 Billion Houston Project

What happened: A major highway rebuild – the I-45 North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) – moves ahead after two years of delay. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) March 6 signed a ‘Voluntary Resolution Agreement’ (VRA) letting the state resume planning and procurement.

Why it matters: FHWA halted NHHIP early in the Biden administration at the behest of local leaders and community activists based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in dispensing federal funds. The VRA comes early in FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt’s tenure; Bhatt recently issued a memorandum reaffirming the principal role of states in selection of federal-aid highway and bridge projects.

The NHHIP will reconstruct I-45 North between Houston’s downtown and the North Sam Houston Tollway to bring the roadway up to federal safety standards and enhance mobility. Last March local media reported the project’s first year of delay added $750 million to its price tag. Current cost estimate: $9.7 billion.

What’s next: Several ARTBA members have already worked with TxDOT in initial design, traffic studies, drainage studies and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance. With the VRA signed and NEPA project review complete, construction on parts of the freeway could begin next year. Under the agreement, TxDOT must remain ‘committed to evaluating reasonable opportunities to reduce the project footprint.” That means some location revisions so that the new freeway can fit into smaller neighborhoods. Here’s a project overview.

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