Federal transportation officials will allow sections of a $10-billion highway expansion plan in Houston to proceed while continuing to assess possible civil rights and environmental violations associated with the project’s more controversial elements.
Known as the North Houston Highway Improvement Project, the three-phase plan calls for shifting a portion of Interstate 45 to a new alignment along the east side of the central business district, providing room for the Texas Dept. of Transportation (TxDOT) to incorporate a system of both conventional and managed lanes between downtown and Beltway 8. The project would also implement safety and capacity improvements to adjacent sections of I-10 and I-59.