Boondoggle blocked: Wasteful North Houston I-45 highway expansion halted
Texans need better transportation options — not a costly and inefficient road expansion.
That’s why TexPIRG applauded the U.S. Department of Transportation’s June 23 decision to call on the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) to stop development. The $7.5 billion project would worsen Houston’s already poor air quality, displace over 1,000 residents, businesses and schools, and increase the congestion it aims to reduce.
Identified as one of the country’s most wasteful highway expansions in PIRG’s 2019 Highway Boondoggles report, the NHHIP “would bring nothing but more cars and dirtier air to a city already drowning in traffic and pollution,” said Bay Scoggin, TexPIRG state director. “The federal government’s recognition that Texas has not done its due diligence is a crucial next step in our years-long advocacy against the widening of I-45.”
“Instead, let’s fix our congestion problems by taking cars off the road and investing this $7 billion in public transit.”
Learn more about our campaigns to transform transportation in Texas.
Tell your legislators to stand up to wasteful highway expansion plans
The decision to halt the North Houston highway boondoggle is a step in the right direction, but there's more work to be done. Will you call on your state legislators to shelve plans for the other wasteful projects across Texas and instead invest in providing more transportation options and maintaining the roads we have?
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Aaron Colonnese
Former Content Creator, Editorial & Creative Team, The Public Interest Network
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