Houston Highway Set for $7B Upgrade

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Harper Brothers Construction was awarded the contract for Segment 3 of the North Houston Highway Improvement Project, which will reconstruct all existing interchanges in the downtown Houston loop system.

The Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) multi-billion, multi-year North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) was given the green light on July 26, which will seriously transform a major freeway in downtown Houston, which happens to be the oldest in the state.

The initiative will improve traffic flow in Houston and reduce congestion, as well as being a serious boon for general contractors and subcontractors, engineering firms, and producers of concrete, asphalt, and aggregates.

Work on the project that is expected to be completed in 2042 is set to begin in October. The project had been discussed and studied for more than 20 years.

The NHHIP is a planned reconstruction of I-45N, between Houston’s downtown and the North Sam Houston Tollway, also known as Beltway 8, that includes segments of connecting freeways. This project will improve I-45 from Beltway 8 to I-10 and reroute I-45 through the downtown Houston area along I-10 and U.S. 59/I-69. Portions of I-10 and U.S. 59/I-69 will be improved as well.

The I-45 was constructed in the 1940s and opened in the early 1950s.

The freeway is linked to nine of the 20 most congested roadways in the state.

“This is going to be a major transformation for the city,” said TxDOT spokesperson Danny Perez. “It’s going to improve mobility and enhance safety.”

The project is divided into three segments: Segment 1 is Beltway 8 North to I-610; Segment 2 is I-610 to I-10; and Segment 3 is the Downtown Loop System: I-45, I-10 and U.S. 59/I-69.

The first contract, 3B-1, was let in June of 2024 and was awarded to Harper Brothers Construction LLC.

The overall NHHIP project starts with Segment 3, which is divided into four separate projects lasting until 2037.

Segment 3 will reconstruct all existing interchanges in the downtown Houston loop system and reroute I-45 to be parallel to I-10 on the north side of downtown and parallel to U.S. 59/I-69 on the east side of downtown.

According to TxDOT, Segment 3 project will ultimately reconstruct portions of I-10, I-45, I-69 and SH 288 around downtown Houston.

“The next contract is 3B-2, scheduled to let in September 2024,” said Perez, who noted that TxDOT will let more in the next few years as the work expands. The segments are subdivided into various projects, which vary in size from $150 million to $850 million for traditional design-bid-build delivery, except for two projects in Segment 3 [3C-2 and 3D] which are planned Design-Build projects greater than $1.3 billion.”

The work includes the addition of four non-tolled managed lanes, two lanes in each direction, 24/7 operations for carpool and transit on I-45 from Beltway 8 North to downtown Houston with improvements continuing south along U.S. 59/I-69 to Spur 527; the reconstruction of mainlanes and frontage roads; the rerouting of I-45 in the downtown area to be parallel with I-10 on the north side of downtown and parallel with U.S. 59/I-69 on the east side of downtown; providing access to the west side of downtown via downtown connectors which would provide access to and from various downtown streets; and realign both I-10 and U.S. 59/I-69 within the proposed project area to eliminate the current roadway curvature.

Furthermore, it will add four I-10 express lanes between I-45 and U.S. 59/I-69; reconstruct the interchange at I-45 and I-610N to improve sight distances on direct connectors and replace outdated left lane exits where drivers expect right lane exits; the connection of I-45 and I-610 frontage roads with new intersections in Segment 2 and add one frontage road lane in each direction in Segment 1; and the addition of shoulders that are full width; bike/pedestrian features along frontage roads and affected cross streets, and trails parallel to bayous within the right of way.

Segment 1 is broken down into three ports: 1A, $296,800,000 (2034-2038); 1B, $386,400,000 (2033-2037); and 1C, $224 million (2032-2035).

“The project brings significant economic impacts to the Houston area as well as much needed safety improvements to one of the state’s most congested highways,” states the web page. “Some 92,000 direct jobs are being created with an additional 89,000 indirect jobs generated from this project. The overall statewide economic impact of NHHIP is estimated at $19.2 billion.The future of transportation is changing and the infrastructure in the nation’s fourth largest city needs to change with it. Parts of the I-45 corridor have not changed since being constructed over 50 years ago.

“The I-45 improvement project not only brings these highways up to current standards, but also prepares for the future by improving resiliency to weather events and providing safer, more efficient travel that could accommodate the transition to electric and self-driving vehicles,” it added. “And, importantly, it will increase the opportunity for transit and high-occupancy vehicles as a mode choice for those traveling along the I-45 North Houston corridor. Additionally, the neighborhoods in the project area will see many specific benefits beyond the economic and safety improvements.”

This segment will improve the I-45 between I-610 and Beltway 8 by widening the roadway to accommodate four lanes known as MaX lanes. The roadway would have: four general purpose lanes in each direction with auxiliary lanes; two MaX (Managed Express) lanes in each direction operating 24/7 carrying HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) and METRO bus traffic; the addition of full-width shoulders and bicycle/pedestrian features frontage roads, as well as enhanced bicycle/pedestrian features on streets crossing I-45. Drainage in this segment would be improved for residents and businesses along I-45 with the addition of 11 new detention ponds including a joint regional detention pond facility with Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) on Halls Bayou just east of I-45 and with the use of increased storm sewer pipe sizes to provide in-line detention.

Segment 2 is based on 2A, $604,800,000 with $100 million in current funding (2028-2032) and 2B, $1,015,400,000 (2032-2037). This segment will improve the I-45 mainlanes and frontage roads from I-10 north to I-610 and rebuild the I-45/I-610 interchange.

The work is widening I-45 in this area to accommodate four MaX lanes. The proposed roadway would include 10 general purpose lanes (five in each direction), four MaX lanes (two in each direction), and two to three frontage road lanes in each direction. The MaX lanes would increase the HOV space in the middle of the I-45 mainlanes from one lane to four. Only buses and vehicles with two or more people in them would be able to travel in the MaX lanes

“Segment 3, excluding 3A, was originally planned to be Design-Build,” states the web page. “Now, Segment 3B, 3A, and various other portions of Segment 3 will be constructed as traditional Design-Bid-Build projects, in which design plans are developed prior to construction contractors providing bids. TxDOT studied elevated lanes, depressed lanes, underground tunnels, and combinations of all three. The only alternative that had a significant and positive impact was to depress U.S. 59/ I-69 between Commerce Street and Spur 527, and shift I-45 from the current alignment along Pierce Elevated and make it parallel with I-10 on the north side of Downtown and U.S. 59/I-69 on the west side of Downtown.”