Tag Archives: I-45

Houston First does its own Polk Street study

Posted on July 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Everything will be fine, don’t worry about it. As Houston residents continue to push for Polk Street to remain open through the planned $2 billion George R. Brown Convention Center expansion, Houston First has released a traffic study it says … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged bicycles, buses, construction, downtown, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Houston First, I-45, John Whitmire, Jolanda Jones, Metro, People for Polk | Leave a comment

RIP, Graffiti Park

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is such a Houston story. A piece of Houston’s cultural identity and history is being erased. This week, demolition crews began tearing down two buildings on Leeland Street as part of the Texas Department of Transportation’s I-45 North Houston … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, demolition, EaDo, Graffiti Park, Houston, I-45, TxDOT | Comments Off

What’s next for Aurora’s driverless trucks

Posted on May 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Expansion coming soon. Autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation plans to expand on the success of its first driverless commercial launch and add night driving to its operations. Aurora said Thursday that in the second half of 2025, it will … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Aurora, Dallas, driverless cars, El Paso, Houston, I-10, I-20, I-45, Kodiak Robotics, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Transportation Research Group, Phoenix, Texas, trucks | Comments Off

Who’s really using Polk Street?

Posted on May 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The people who would be most affected by a proposed street closure are trying to quantify the effect of said closure. Armed with clipboards, pencils and determination, a group of volunteers gathered early Wednesday morning at intersections around the George … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, downtown, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Houston First, I-45, John Whitmire, People for Polk | 1 Comment

The Polk Street connection

Posted on March 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Closing off streets is a tough thing to do. On Feb. 1, signs went up announcing the city’s plan to abandon Polk Street between St. Emanuel and Hamilton streets. The closure is part of Houston First Corporation’s $2 billion overhaul … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, downtown, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Houston First, I-45, John Whitmire, People for Polk | 1 Comment

More construction chaos on the bike trails

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What the hell, man? Not one, but two popular trail bridges spanning White Oak Bayou were struck by loose construction materials from ongoing work along Interstate 10, closing both spans as well as a key stretch of trail, isolating portions … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bayou Greenway Initiative, bicycles, Bike Houston, bike trails, construction, Department of Public Works and Engineering, Heights, Houston, I-10, I-45, MKT Trail, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | 1 Comment

I-10 elevation project is now underway

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I had managed to forget that this was out there. And then I had to get on I-10 west on Monday morning and was rudely reminded. A major construction project off Interstate 10 has kicked off with the intent to … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, Heights, Houston, HOV lanes, I-10, I-45, Texas, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | 3 Comments

The I-45 project is officially underway

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Houston drivers are facing more than a dozen years of work on freeways in and around the central business district — at a cost that could come close to or exceed $6 billion. All that work, however, will … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, downtown, Houston, I-10, I-45, Pierce Elevated, TxDOT, US59 | 4 Comments

Of course the I-45 project will cost more than expected

Posted on September 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Same as it ever was. The first major road work set for downtown Houston related to the $11.2 billion-plus rebuild of the freeway core and Interstate 45 remains on track for next year, but at a cost of $80 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, downtown, Houston, I-10, I-45, Stop I-45, Texas, TxDOT | 1 Comment

On burying a freeway and building a park over it

Posted on August 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Noting this for the record. As a high-stakes project to sink I-35 through downtown Austin kicks into gear this summer, city officials and the University of Texas are looking to Dallas for a possible glimpse of the future. The vision: … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Austin, construction, Dallas, downtown, I-35, I-45, I-45 Parkway, Klyde Warren Park, No Higher No Wider I-10, Pierce Elevated, Pierce Skypark, Rethink35, Texas, tunnel, TxDOT | 3 Comments

Of course the I-10 project will cost more than expected

Posted on August 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The sun rises in the east, water is wet, etc etc etc. Lifting Interstate 10 out of White Oak Bayou’s floodway is poised to cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars more than anticipated, as bids to build the project … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged BRT, construction, Heights, Houston, HOV lanes, I-10, I-45, Inner Katy line, Metro, Texas, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | 1 Comment

More on the I-10 project and “No Higher No Wider”

Posted on July 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This story is primarily about the effect of the proposed I-10 widening/elevating would have on the Cottage Grove neighborhood, which was previously split in two by the highway’s construction in 1968. That’s all worth reading, but I’m focusing on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged BRT, construction, Cottage Grove, Heights, Houston, HOV lanes, I-10, I-45, Inner Katy line, Metro, No Higher No Wider I-10, Texas, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | Comments Off

I-45 construction set to begin

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here it comes. Houston’s largest-ever freeway project is one step closer to starting construction, with crews poised to begin digging in the dirt along Interstate 69 by fall. After years of planning and sometimes fiery debate, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, Houston, I-10, I-45, Stop I-45, Texas, TxDOT | 1 Comment

We need to pay more attention to the I-10 construction proposals

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

By which I mostly mean I need to pay more attention to them, because they sound terrible. Between the shrill of large trucks barreling down Interstate 10 – when only the whoosh of cars dominates the din – Matt Tetlow … Continue reading →

I-10 elevation update

Posted on January 30, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

From the Woodland Heights Civic Association January newsletter: I-10 Heights to I-45 Project Update: Community Advocacy Leads to Significant Changes The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has announced modifications to its $347 million plan to elevate a section of Interstate … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged bike trails, BRT, construction, Federal Highway Administration, flooding, Heights, Houston, I-10, I-45, Inner Katy line, Metro, MKT Trail, National Environmental Policy Act, noise, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | 3 Comments

How are the city’s talks with H-GAC going?

Posted on January 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Things seemed to be going reasonably well. The deadline had passed but no one seemed to fussed about it. Despite a deadline set by Houston voters for early January, the process to increase Houston’s role in regional planning will take … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged Election 2023, Fair For Houston, Fort Bend County, Grady Prestage, Gulf Coast Rail District, Harris County, HGAC, Houston, I-45, John Whitmire, Lina Hidalgo, Mark Keough, Metro, Montgomery County, Pearland, Sallie Alcorn, Sugar Land, Trey Duhon | 1 Comment

Driverless trucks minus human “safety drivers” set to debut later this year

Posted on January 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I-45 will be where to find them. Driverless trucks with no humans on board will soon cruise Texas highways if three startup firms have their way despite objections from critics who say financial pressures, not safety, is behind the timetable. … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Aurora, California, Dallas, driverless cars, Frisco, Gatik AI, Houston, I-45, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Kodiak Robotics, Texas, trucks | Comments Off

Whitmire and SJL on Prop B and H-GAC

Posted on November 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Houston’s two remaining candidates for mayor appear to have cooled their earlier support of local Proposition B now that it has been approved by voters and the candidates find themselves an election away from becoming the person in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged Election 2023, Fair For Houston, HGAC, Houston, I-45, John Whitmire, Mayor, runoff, Sheila Jackson Lee | Comments Off

Saturday video break: CityNerd visits Houston

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

An urban planner who has mostly heard negative things about Houston visits our city for a couple of days, and finds quite a bit about it that he likes: Found via Evan Mintz. It’s about 20 minutes (there’s about two … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged bicycles, Election 2023, Fair For Houston, HGAC, Houston, I-45, pedestrians, sidewalks, urbanism, videos | Comments Off

Ed Emmett opines against Prop B

Posted on October 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

He’s the first prominent local politician that I’m aware of to take this position. Promoted by a group called Fair for Houston, the petition is seeking to have cities’ and counties’ voting strength (within organizations such as the H-GAC board … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged Ed Emmett, Election 2023, Fair For Houston, Harris County, HGAC, Houston, Hurricane Harvey, I-45, Sallie Alcorn | Comments Off

The I-45 project will be old enough to vote before it is finished

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Isn’t that nice? Often called a once-in-a-generation project, the planned $9.7 billion-plus rebuild of I-45 from downtown Houston north to Beltway 8, including a total reconstruction of the downtown freeway system, is expected to take a generation to build. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, Harris County, Houston, I-10, I-45, I-610, Stop I-45, Texas, TxDOT, US59 | 2 Comments

I-45 project is back on

Posted on March 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Though it will still be several years before there is any real construction. Nearly two years to the day that federal officials paused TxDOT’s plans for rebuilding Interstate 45 and downtown Houston’s freeway system, national and state highway leaders have come … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Adrian Garcia, Air Alliance Houston, bicycles, Christian Menefee, construction, Federal Highway Administration, flooding, Harris County, Houston, Houston Housing Authority, I-45, LINK Houston, NOAA, Stop I-45, TxDOT | Comments Off

If not for I-45 then for something else

Posted on March 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Money for highways never goes unspent. Drivers on Houston freeways likely can relate: Facing a slowdown when it comes to rebuilding Interstate 45, state transportation leaders are shifting gears and changing lanes. Unable to significantly move ahead with the controversial … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, Federal Highway Administration, Harris County, Houston, Houston Ship Channel, I-10, I-45, I-610, Pete Buttigieg, Stop I-45, Texas, Texas Transportation Commission, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | Comments Off

The Pierce Skypark and the Midtown McDonald’s

Posted on January 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Fascinating. The now closed McDonald’s in Midtown isn’t the only parcel at play in the area that could – when combined with a major proposed “sky park’ – help to reshape the southern edge of downtown. The Greyhound bus station next to … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Central Houston, construction, downtown, Houston, I-45, I-610, Midtown, Pierce Skypark, Texas, TxDOT, US59 | Comments Off

I-45 construction never stops

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It just keeps moving on. Though attention remains on rebuilding Interstate 45 through northern parts of Houston, state highway officials also are planning for the next round of road work. The Texas Department of Transportation has scheduled two public meetings, … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Conroe, construction, Houston, I-45, Spring, Texas, TxDOT | 2 Comments

So what’s the deal with that I-45 deal?

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Still to be determined. Houston, Harris County and the Texas Department of Transportation have an agreed path forward for rebuilding Interstate 45, and a lot of steps to get there. Details big and small remain works in progress and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Air Alliance Houston, BRT, construction, Federal Highway Administration, flooding, Hardy Toll Road, Harris County, Harris County Attorney, Harris County Flood Control District, Houston, I-10, I-45, Independence Heights, lawsuit, Main Street line, Metro, Sanjay Ramabhadran, sidewalks, Stop I-45, Sylvester Turner, Texas, TxDOT, US59 | Comments Off

A walk through four districts, part 2: Now with pictures

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

In yesterday’s post I described my weird idea to take a stroll into four Congressional districts, something I decided I could do after taking a close look at the new map in Houston. On Wednesday, a bit more than a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022, Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged bike trails, CD07, CD18, CD29, CD38, Heights, Houston, I-45, MKT Trail, pedestrians, sidewalks, Texas, Washington Avenue, White Oak | 3 Comments

The road construction chaos that we know of for 2023

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Forewarned, forearmed, etc. A new year will mean major developments for some of the biggest highway projects in the region, but drivers should not expect them to be finished until 2024. The largest projects by the Texas Department of Transportation … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged construction, Houston, I-10, I-45, I-610, Texas, TxDOT, Westheimer | Comments Off

Agreement reached on I-45 expansion plans

Posted on December 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I remain skeptical, but we’ll see. The bottleneck of design differences that has divided officials about remaking Interstate 45 north of downtown Houston is easing, officials said Monday, clearing the way for construction on the $10 billion project, perhaps in … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Adrian Garcia, Christian Menefee, Commissioners Court, construction, Federal Highway Administration, Harris County, Harris County Attorney, Houston, I-45, Independence Heights, lawsuit, Rodney Ellis, Sheila Jackson Lee, Stop I-45, Sylvester Turner, Texas, TxDOT | 4 Comments

IKEA gets self-driving trucks

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not for home delivery. Not yet, anyway.

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Dallas, driverless cars, Frisco, Houston, I-45, IKEA, Kodiak Robotics, Texas, trucks | Comments Off

Is this enough lipstick for the I-45 project?

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

You decide. A downtown economic development group hopes proposed “green” and multimodal amenities will make the controversial I-45 expansion plan more palatable for the project’s critics. The multi-billion-dollar plan by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to widen and reroute … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Central Houston, construction, downtown, Federal Highway Administration, Houston, I-45, Stop I-45, TxDOT | 1 Comment

Unifying the opposition to massive urban highway projects

Posted on September 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good idea, ought to have some effect, but changing the overall culture and philosophy about transportation in Texas is a very big lift. Opponents of some of Texas’ largest transportation projects are unifying their messaging, pushing state highway officials to … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Austin, Beto O'Rourke, Dallas, El Paso, Election 2022, Governor, Greg Abbott, Houston, I-10, I-345, I-35, I-45, Rethink35, Stop I-45, Texas, Texas Transportation Commission, TxDOT | Comments Off

Woodland Heights Civic Association opposes I-10 elevation proposal

Posted on September 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my neighborhood, and this is the email they sent out on Thursday about it. In recent weeks the WHCA has challenged TxDOT on their plan to elevate I-10 near our neighborhood between Heights Blvd. and I-45. Due to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged bike trails, construction, Federal Highway Administration, flooding, Heights, Heights Boulevard, Houston, I-10, I-45, Inner Katy line, Metro, National Environmental Policy Act, noise, TxDOT, White Oak Bayou | 2 Comments

Another story about driverless trucks on I-45

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The driverless trucks start coming and they don’t stop coming. Waymo will partner in coming weeks with manufacturer Daimler Truck to put self-driving 18-wheelers on the road, further expanding the technology company’s autonomous testing between Dallas and Houston. The big … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Daimler, Dallas, driverless cars, Houston, I-45, Texas, trucks, Waymo | Comments Off

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