Name: Critics: 30-day window to comment on I-45 project far too short for generation-lasting rebuild
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Critics: 30-day window to comment on I-45 project far too short for generation-lasting rebuild

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The federal clock for the I-45 rebuild in Houston has started, as critics complain a 30-day final comment period is far too short for a $7 billion project set to displace hundreds of residents and businesses.Texas Department of Transportation officials , but notice of the , kicking off the mandatory 30-day comment window.Comments received by TxDOT by Nov. 9 will be included in the final report, but critical feedback rarely delays projects receiving final approval.Once the comment period closes, TxDOT can receive the go-ahead to hire a team of engineers and construction companies to do final designs on the freeway rebuild and begin construction.THE ROADS AHEAD:The deadline is the latest step in the years-long process to rebuild Interstate 45 from downtown Houston north to Beltway 8. The massive rebuild includes moving I-45 to follow Interstate 69 on the east side of the central business district, eliminating the elevated segment along Pierce. That change spurs a near-total rebuild of the entire freeway system, set to start construction within the next two years.Upcoming I-45 meetingsHouston Planning Department will hold virtual sessions on the I-45 project:Tuesday Oct. 20, 6-8 p.m.Thursday Oct. 22, 1-3 p.m.Saturday Oct. 24, 10 a.m.-noonInformation:The new freeway will have two managed lanes in the center, much like the Katy Managed Lanes along Interstate 10, and will include rebuilding the interchanges with Loop 610 in Independence Heights and I-10. Those changes, however, require more land and property, TxDOT officials said, including an estimated 160 houses, 433 apartment or condo units, 486 public housing apartments, 344 businesses, five churches, and two schools.DON’T MESS WITH TXDOT:Critics, who for the past three years have grown increasingly vocal about the project proceeding without addressing their concerns, said the 30-day comment period is too narrow for robust analysis. Michael Skelly, who organized the Make I-45 Better Coalition, said the average college student can edit 11 pages of technical manual per hour. With 8,189 pages in the environmental report detailing everything from flood mitigation and air quality to affected historic properties and schools, Skelly said it would take 31 days — a day longer than the comment period — to examine it.“The 30-day waiting period for public comments is literally impossible,” Skelly said.PIERCE ELIMINATED:Numerous groups have said delaying final approval of the project’s record of the decision, the OK that gives TxDOT permission to build it, must be extended. Air Alliance Houston said it will ask for a 120-day comment period.TxDOT officials, however, have said they plan to proceed and address design changes after they have final approval, , on behalf of Mayor Sylvester Turner. City officials have suggested reducing the number of frontage road lanes in spots and adding a single transit-only lane to the freeway rather than the two managed lanes.Friday, Houston’s planning department said three more public sessions, virtual because of the COVID pandemic, are planned later this month to compile community comment on the project.Discussions of possible changes continue, as does work on an agreement between local officials, TxDOT and the Houston-Galveston Area Council, which doles out some federal highway funds. An H-GAC committee was formed to create the agreement, which will spell out how the various entities can work on the project together.Receiving final approval for building the project will not end those discussions, said Eliza Paul, district director for TxDOT in Houston.“We are receptive to keep working with everybody,” Paul said Sept. 25 when the final report was released. “We also want to keep moving forward to provide this project.”dug.begley@chron.com

The federal clock for the I-45 rebuild in Houston has started, as critics complain a 30-day final comment period is far too short for a $7 billion project set to displace hundreds of residents and businesses.Texas Department of Transportation officials , but notice of the , kicking off the mandatory 30-day comment window.Comments received by TxDOT by Nov. 9 will be included in the final report, but critical feedback rarely delays projects receiving final approval.Once the comment period closes, TxDOT can receive the go-ahead to hire a team of engineers and construction companies to do final...

Critics: 30-day window to comment on I-45 project far too short for generation-lasting rebuild

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