I-45 Update

Following article was published by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance.

Faced with vocal, well-organized opposition, Texas Department of Transportation is rethinking its planned expansion of the North Freeway, I-45. According to an article in the Aug. 31 Houston Chronicle, the highway department is looking at alternatives that include using the Hardy Toll Road for added capacity. Examining the additional proposals could take at least a year.

TxDOT's decision came after an estimated 500 concerned residents filled the auditorium of Jefferson Davis High School for an Aug. 13 town meeting organized by the I-45 Coalition. The audience heard TxDOT's preliminary recommendations for expanding the North Freeway between downtown Houston and Loop 610. The proposed widening will impact Houston's Woodland Heights, First Ward and Near Northside as well as lesser known historic neighborhoods, such as the Brooke Smith Addition, Germantown and Grota Homestead, where preservation is just getting a foothold.

Many GHPA members and supporters were among those in attendance, along with U.S. Representatives Gene Green and Sheila Jackson Lee, State Representatives Garnet Coleman and Jessica Farrar, County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia and City Council Members Adrian Garcia and Gordon Quan. During opening comments, Council Member Adrian Garcia stated, "These plans will erase the Northside as we know it today."

Janet Kennison of Carter & Burgess, the state's consultants, presented TxDOT's proposal. The recommended alternative would provide eight general purpose lanes and four managed lanes on I-45 north of downtown Houston. There are currently eight general purpose lanes and one reversible HOV lane.

The reconstruction project would provide no additional capacity for the general purpose lanes, but would allow TxDOT to meet its goal of providing "reliable travel times in the managed lanes." Unlike current HOV lanes, which are limited to public transit and vehicles with two or more occupants, managed lanes provide access to single-occupant vehicles which pay a toll. Kennison stated that the opportunity for "innovative financing" [toll lanes] was the deciding factor in recommending this alternative.

The TxDOT presentation did not address two issues of extreme importance to the residents of surrounding neighborhoods: the potential need for expanded right-of-way and the possible widening and extension of adjacent service roads. Kennison said questions regarding expanded right-of-way and service roads would be addressed during the preliminary design phase. Kennison also stated that TxDOT would make every effort to remain within the existing right-of-way between Loop 610 and downtown Houston.

John Wilson of the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention presented the I-45 Coalition's concerns, which included the absence of information regarding the service roads and expanded right-of-way. The Coalition is asking TxDOT to include assessment of the right-of-way impact, frontage road requirements and surface street improvements in the planning phase of the project. The Coalition also expressed concerns that TxDOT's cost estimates for the project are unrealistically low in light of the well-publicized cost overruns associated with the Katy Freeway expansion. The Coalition has asked TxDOT to present its plans to stakeholders before going to the regional planning agency for its approval.

The meeting also included a presentation by a representative of transportation engineer Gonzalo Camacho on his proposal for a twin tunnel that would place the expanded highway underground. Details of the tunnel proposal are available online.

GHPA will continue cooperating with the I-45 Coalition and Citizens Transportation Coalition to keep its members updated on the situation.