Txdot revs up

Controversial $9B downtown highway project ready to roll after green light

The first — and technically, last — stage of TxDOT's plan is set to begin soon downtown.

Photo courtesy of TXDOT

The Texas Department of Transportation is revving up to begin construction of a hotly debated Houston highway project. TxDOT reps say the agency will soon begin construction for the $9 billion North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP).

This news comes after years of planning, studying, design and redesigns in effort to address public protests and even a county lawsuit.

A "super freeway" for downtown

As CultureMap reported in 2020, the NHHIP was originally pitched as "super-freeway" concept. Initial plans called for I-45 to merge with US-59 and send part of the freeway underground. The "super freeway was envisioned as I-45 running alongside I-10 on the north side of downtown.

Officially, now, the NHHIP project promises to "enhance safety, create additional roadway capacity to manage congestion, incentivize transit and promote ridesharing," per TxDOT.

Plans call for work on I-45 to Highway 59/I‑69 to Beltway 8 North, plus improvements along US 59/I‑69 between I‑45 and Spur 527, a boon to drivers heading to downtown destinations and surrounding areas. Divided into three segments, the project features Segment 1(Beltway 8 North to I-610); Segment 2 (I-610 to I-10); and Segment 3 (downtown Loop System, I-45, I-10, and US 59/I-69).

TxDOT's big highway plan

Here's a quick rundown of the NHHIP plans, per TxDOT:

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 US 59/I-69 to Spur 527
Reconstruction of mainlanes and frontage roads
Rerouting of I-45 in the downtown area to be parallel with I-10 on the north side of downtown and parallel with US 59/I-69 on the east side of downtown
Access to the west side of downtown via downtown connectors which would provide access to and from various downtown streets
Both I-10 and US 59/I-69 within the proposed project area would be realigned to eliminate the current roadway curvature.
Addition of four I-10 express lanes between I-45 and US 59/I-69
Reconstruction of the interchange at I-45 and I-610N to improve sight distances on direct connectors and replace outdated left lane exits where drivers expect right lane exits
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
Addition of shoulders that are full width
Addition of bike/pedestrian features along frontage roads and affected cross streets
Addition of trails parallel to bayous within the right of way

(Segment) 3 to make ready

Notably, TxDOT is jumping ahead to the final portion, which centers on downtown. "Our focus presently is on Segment 3, which will be the area that we move forward with first," Raquelle Lewis, TxDOT's southeast Texas communications director, told CultureMap news partner ABC13.

Why the jump in segments? TxDOT notes that Segment 3 of the project is fully funded and ready for construction, with a timeline in place. "We are looking at getting started with the first project in Segment 3 in 2024, and so we probably have anywhere from seven to 10 years before we see the Segment 3 elements completed," Lewis added.

Segment 3, however, is the portion receiving the bulk of the backlash and controversy, with major scrutiny on potential demolition of public housing, businesses, and churches. In 2020, Air Alliance Houston filed public petitions questioning the project's affect on air quality in the neighboring communities.

Then, in 2021, the Federal Highway Administration paused the project for two years in response to numerous civil rights concerns. Last December, as ABC13 reported, Houston city leaders and Harris County finally agreed to embrace the project — but only after TxDOT addressed the numerous public health, safety, and housing complaints.

Time will tell if more complaints and challenges will arise; in the meantime, TxDOT is partnering on a series of public meetings to share construction details and timelines with the public. Those interested should visit TxDOT's website for more details.

bowled over

Houston artist dishes on Food Bank fundraiser happening this weekend

Picture of several artists at a table with a bunch of handmade ceramic bowls.

Photo courtesy Paula Murphy

Ceramics professor Cori Cryer and her students from Lone Star College Kingwood and the bowls they donated to the 20th Empty Bowls fundraiser

On Saturday, May 16, shoppers have an opportunity to feed those in need by purchasing unique, handcrafted items. The 20th Empty Bowls event takes place at Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards from 10 am to 3 pm. A preview party takes place on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm (buy tickets here).

The fundraiser is a collaboration between Houston-area ceramists, woodturners, and artists working in all media and Silver Street Studios.

Shoppers can purchase one-of-a-kind bowls for $25 each (larger bowls are priced accordingly). A simple lunch from Salata, a sweet treat from Ben & Jerry’s, and iced coffee from Katz Coffee is served until it runs out. Every dollar of the purchases goes to the Houston Food Bank, which estimates that for every dollar donated, it’s able to provide three meals to Houstonians in need. Since its inception, Empty Bowls Houston has raised $1,208,959 for the Houston Food Bank, which equates to more than 3.6 million meals.

The event also includes live music and art demos. More than 2,000 bowls will be available for purchase, donated by area artists.

Empty Bowls began as a grassroots effort started many years ago at a high school in Michigan and is now held all over the world. Nearly everything for Empty Bowls events, from the food served to the venues hosting events and the bowls for sale are donated.

Cori Cryer, a professor of ceramics at Lone Star College Kingwood, is one of those who, along with her students, donated bowls for the fundraiser. She’s been involved with the effort for all of its 20 years in Houston, and before that in other cities.

“When I started donating, I didn't have a whole lot of money,” Cryer tells CultureMap. “I was a graduate student, and so this was a way for me to give back to the local community. And I think my students today kind of recognize that same feel. You know, they may not have money to send a check off to someone, [but this is] an easy way for them to be able to contribute to the community.”

Cryer teaches Ceramics I and Ceramics II to a variety of dual-credit high school students, college students, and continuing education students. Those in her Ceramics II classes are required to create five bowls to donate to Empty Bowls. But her students in her introductory class often end up donating as well. This year, she and her students provided approximately 150 bowls for the event.

Cryer said that the style of bowls for sale range from something as small as a condiment bowl to much larger serving bowls As each bowl is an individual work, they represent a variety of styles and themes. One of her students this year designed a glazed, ceramic leaf-shaped bowl with ceramic insects on it.

“There's a ladybug and a caterpillar and a spider,” she says, each created out of clay and positioned around the bowl.

Cryer loves seeing how the artists use their imaginations and abilities.

“Most of my students do throw their bowls on the pottery wheel, but that's not required,” she says. “They can hand-build them. It’s completely up to them what kind of construction technique they use.”

Cryer loves knowing that this event is a way for students to see that their artistic efforts can have lasting impact on the community around them. In addition to being able to support the Houston Food Bank, the bowls her class donates, she knows, take on special meaning for those who purchase them.

“I tell my students there is a pot for every person and a person for every pot,” she says.

In fact, one of her personal favorite bowls is one she purchased from an Empty Bowls sale.

“It's a very small bowl, maybe like three inches in diameter, and two inches tall, and it's a little pink pig that I think an elementary student made,” she said. “He has no tail, and he has no ears, but he has a snout, and it is definitely a pig. And I love that little bowl. I have it sitting on my desk at home.”

Cryer knows shoppers attending the Empty Bowls sale will find similar, soon-to-be-beloved items.

The Saturday event is free. Those wishing to attend the preview party on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm, which offers light bites, beer and wine, and the first chance to purchase bowls, can purchase a $50 ticket online. In addition, Archway Gallery is hosting an exhibition of 30 one-of-a-kind bowls that can be purchased as part of the Empty Bowls fundraiser. The exhibit runs through May 30.