TxDOT announces agreement with FHWA to allow I-45 expansion project in Houston to move forward

HOUSTON - Federal and state agencies have reached an agreement to allow the I-45 expansion project near Downtown Houston to move forward, officials announced Tuesday.

The Texas Department of Transportation said they and the Federal Highway Administration signed a voluntary resolution agreement to resolve the FHWA Title VI investigation of the project and lift the federal agency's pause on the project.

PREVIOUS: Federal government puts the brakes on I-45 expansion near downtown

TxDOT said the agreement with FHWA takes steps to address project impacts to the community and provides timelines that will be monitored by the FHWA.

"This agreement moves forward an important project, responds to community concerns, and improves the North Houston Highway Improvement Project in ways that will make a real difference in people's lives. Through this agreement the community will have a greater voice in the design and throughout the project's life cycle," said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. "We have lifted the pause, and with FHWA oversight, TXDOT may proceed with design and construction."

MORE: Protesters say I-45 expansion will affect minority Houstonians

The project, which has been in the works for nearly two decades, has remained on hold since March 2021, when the Federal Highway Administration began reviewing civil rights and environmental justice concerns raised about the proposal.

The $9 billion project will reconstruct I-45 North between Houston's downtown and the North Sam Houston Tollway. Supporters said it would enhance driver safety, help to reduce traffic congestion, and address flood mitigation and disaster evacuation needs. But the project’s critics — including community groups and some residents — said it wouldn’t improve the area’s traffic woes and would subject mostly Black and Latino residents to increased pollution, displacement and flooding while not improving public transportation options.

MORE: Houston city officials support $9 billion I-45 expansion project despite dispute

In December, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said that after much discussion over nearly the past two years with TxDOT, local officials planned to back the proposal. Turner said state officials gave commitments that the project would provide funding, including an additional $30 million, for affordable housing for those displaced by the project. The mayor also said that TxDOT also agreed to provide more resources to address flooding, provide more green spaces and trail connections, and limit the project’s footprint by only taking what land and structures are needed for it.

RELATED: Harris Co. sues TXDOT over I-45 North expansion near downtown citing environmental concerns

In December, Harris County also announced the resolution of its 2021 lawsuit against TxDOT under the National Environmental Policy Act.

In a statement on Tuesday, Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee said, "The FHWA agreement announced today bolsters the county’s and city’s agreements with TxDOT from late last year. Many of the commitments TxDOT made to the county and the city are now subject to federal government monitoring and enforcement throughout the projects design and construction. I’m glad the federal government ratified and built on the work done by local government – this agreement ensures the county’s and city’s interests will be considered during the life of the project."

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also said in a statement, "After years of negotiations, the North Houston Highway Improvement Project can now be the project Houston deserves it to be. A project that addresses I-45’s repeated flooding while maximizing the opportunities for people to stay in their homes and neighborhoods. It is a project that helps people and goods travel through the region while encouraging people to travel between our neighborhoods without impacting them. A project that can help knit back together our downtown and improve the air we all breathe. I thank the many project partners and stakeholders that have brought us to the point, including FHWA, TxDOT, Harris County, METRO, and especially our residents."

Houston and Harris County leaders react

The City of Houston released the following statement on Tuesday:

Mayor Turner has repeatedly stated that the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) is a potentially transformative project with the chance to chart a new course for transportation in the region. This was the foundation for the Memorandum of Understandings between the City and Harris County, and TxDOT and is now further memorialized by the Voluntary Resolution Agreement (VRA) between the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), including key topics that echo between the agreements:

Potential for Footprint Reduction

Displacements, Relocations, Housing and Community Mitigation

Flooding Mitigation

Air Quality Mitigation

Potential Green Space Caps

Parks, Open Space, Trails, and Bike/Ped Enhancements

 Access During Construction

Continued Multilingual Community Outreach 

"After years of negotiations, the North Houston Highway Improvement Project can now be the project Houston deserves it to be," said Mayor Sylvester Turner. "A project that addresses I-45’s repeated flooding while maximizing the opportunities for people to stay in their homes and neighborhoods. It is a project that helps people and goods travel through the region while encouraging people to travel between our neighborhoods without impacting them. A project that can help knit back together our downtown and improve the air we all breathe. I thank the many project partners and stakeholders that have brought us to the point, including FHWA, TxDOT, Harris County, METRO, and especially our residents."

The mitigation measures for the topics identified in the VRA are now a component of the NHHIP environmental review process, with status and weight equal to the Final Environmental Impact Statement and Record of Decision, coupled with enforceability measures and monitoring and reporting requirements.
With the execution of the MOUs and the VRA, the City of Houston is prepared to reengage TxDOT on all segments of NHHIP, restart robust engagement, and see the NHHIP project move from two decades of planning to successful completion.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee shared the following statement:

"First, I would like to thank the County Judge, the Mayor and Council Members, Commissioners and County Attorney for their hard work. The U.S. Department of Transportation has now finalized its agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on the communities' Title VI complaints regarding the fairness and equity of the I-45 project. In the review given to me by the U.S. Federal Highway Administrator, it is evident that the detailed work and efforts made by the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure enforcement of provisions that will provide a better quality of life, a better project and a better response to the needs of our communities in the path of I-45 County Attorney for their hard work in answering the community's concerns highway project was done carefully to answer any number of urgent concerns among others, air quality, housing loss, impact on parks and historic trails and signs, access during construction, and responsiveness to ongoing problems of the community in the I-45 transportation project. I have worked on this issue from its beginning as I sought to represent constituents' views that there must be a better way, a smaller footprint, a better design, and an elimination of the huge destruction of housing. I approached the U.S. Department of Transportation as TxDOT began to try to explain the project. I am grateful for the attention that the U.S. Department of Transportation gave, and I am grateful to the community members and organizations who appropriately filed a Title VI complaint. Following the submission of those complaints, the Federal Highway Administration followed best practices to answer the concerns. However, we all remain cautious and diligent in determining TxDOT's compliance. So, I was particularly glad that the Federal Highway Administration listened and put in very strong enforcement elements between the Department of Transportation and the Department of Justice. The agreement includes required public meetings every year. It requires an Ombudsman to be established so that all the aspects of the agreement will be noticed and remembered and that TxDOT will have to comply based upon the enforcement mechanism. Additionally, we are glad for required public meetings. Our work is not completed. I will remain available to my constituents."

Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia has issued the following statement:

"What has felt like a lifetime of negotiations on the future of I-45 has finally come to a fruitful end. Harris County residents should be thrilled we have an agreement on this long-overdue project. All the work done by community groups, made up of concerned citizens, made a difference for our local, state, and federal partners in achieving this agreement. 

Thanks to the support of FHWA we have a better and safer I-45 project, which is almost entirely in Precinct 2, which means thousands of good jobs and brings billions of our taxpayer dollars back home. It allows Harris County to continue to fuel the Texas and national economy.

I’m thankful to everyone who advocated, TXDOT, County Attorney Christian Menefee and his team, and our congressional and state delegation for this historic agreement. This project, once complete, will make a lifetime of positive difference in the lives of so many who choose to call Harris County, Texas home."

Bob Harvey, President and CEO, Greater Houston Partnership released the following statement:

"Houston is a region focused on creating growth and providing opportunity, both of which depend on modern public infrastructure.  The I-45 project is key to improving the mobility of people and goods across the entire region, while also creating jobs, reconnecting neighborhoods, expanding greenspaces, and addressing flood mitigation.

We are grateful to officials at the Federal Highway Administration, TxDOT and the Texas Transportation Commission particularly former Commissioner Laura Ryan, the City of Houston and Harris County who worked together to resolve the remaining issues and to move this transformational project forward."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.