'It is crystal clear to me that TxDOT is ready': I-45 expansion project moves forward

A controversial project that seeks to expand I-45 and reroute it around Downtown Houston received the state’s blessing to push forward.

The Texas Transportation Commission on Aug. 31 voted to continue its support of the North Houston Highway Improvement Project, ABC13 reported.

The NHHIP essentially remains a part of Texas’s Unified Transportation Project plan in the coming decade.

TxDOT asserts the construction project would ease gridlock, to which critics counter it'll adversely affect communities in or around its path.

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston) counts herself among the NHHIP’s opponents.

"Moments ago, the @TxDOTCommission voted to pass the I-45 plan against the advice of community leaders and local activists, and the numbers of private citizens who gave their comment,” Garcia tweeted after the TTC’s vote. "I will continue fighting to ensure our community is protected and heard."

The Federal Highway Administration still maintains a hold on the NHHIP, and despite giving the green light to the plan, the commissioners announced their intentions to revisit the matter in two months, which Commission Chairman J. Bruce Bugg, Jr., told the Houston Chronicle is sufficient time for the FHA to complete its civil rights investigation into TxDOT.

"It is crystal clear to me that TxDOT is ready to build the (I-45 expansion)," Bugg told the publication. "No question about it. But we can't do it unless or until FHWA releases the hold. That's the elephant in the room today."

Earlier this year, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, another high-profile critic of the expansion, authorized Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee to pursue legal action against TxDOT on grounds the project would harm communities in its path.

Menefee also sought public input on the NHHIP though he was leery of TxDOT’s method of collecting responses.