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Dive brief:
- One of the largest infrastructure projects in Texas, the $13 billion I-45 expansion projectbegan last week near Houston, according to a news release from the Texas DOT. The entire effort is expected to take 18 years, with completion scheduled for 2042.
- The long-delayed North Houston Freeway Improvement Project aims to improve capacity and mobility and improve safety along I-45 from I-69 to on Beltway 8 North, according to the release. The plans also seek to make the corridor more resilient to flooding, which is a major concern in the Houston area in light of destructive storms like Hurricane Harvey and Tropical Storm Imelda.
- The work involves rerouting I-45 through downtown Houston, adding lanes and water retention infrastructure, and rebuilding the freeway system in that area. Texas DOT is leading the project in partnership with the City of Houston, Harris County, the Harris County Flood Control District and other agencies.
Diving knowledge:
In the planning stages since 2002, the sprawling project will be completed in three segments made up of smaller projects, according to the project’s website. Work begins on Segment 3, which is divided into eight phases at a total cost of about $11 billion to rebuild 12.3 miles of the interstate around downtown Houston. We are working on these two projects:
- Segment 3B-1, as of now, involves the installation of sewers to direct stormwater to detention ponds in order to improve flood resistance, according to the release. This phase is expected to be completed in 2027 and has a budget of $121 million. Houston-based Harper Brothers Construction is building that portion, Texas DOT spokesman Danny Perez said in an email.
- Segment 3B-2 will begin in January and be completed by 2030, according to the release. Builders will build new main lanes, frontage roads and improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure on I-69 between SH 288 and I-45. Its estimated cost is $695.5 million. Williams Brothers Construction of Peoria Heights, Ill., is building that section, according to Perez.
Segments 1 and 2 are still under discussion in ongoing community meetings, with construction not expected to begin until after 2030, according to Fox 26. Segment 1, which has no funding and is not actively in detailed design, is expected to cost $907 million of dollars Segment 2 is priced at $1.6 billion, according to the project’s website.
The project has not been without controversy. The opponents stood up worries that the expansion would displace hundreds of residents in historically black and Latino neighborhoods and worsen air quality in the area, prompting a civil rights investigation that halted the project in 2021. This was solved in 2023 after Texas DOT committed $30 million to help displaced residents relocate and seek ways to reduce the project’s footprint “that do not compromise the integrity and functionality of the project’s purpose and need,” according to the agreement
While some planners say the project is necessary to accommodate the area’s population growth, detractors argue that expanding the freeway ultimately leads to more traffic. Additionally, the estimated price tag has increased from $9 billion to $13 billion, according to Texas DOT.
With funding from the Jobs and Infrastructure Investments Act, as well as voter-approved initiatives, Texas is betting on road construction. In 2022, the state DOT announced a record $85 billion for road construction and other transportation efforts over the next 10 years as part of its 2023 Unified Transportation Agenda, which directs federal and state funding to the projects.
