Texas, feds settle probe over $9B Houston highway project

By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — Federal authorities have announced they are lifting their hold of a more than $9 billion Houston area highway-widening project that has come under intense criticism from residents and activists who have argued the proposal would cause lasting economic and environmental damage to their communities. Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt announced Tuesday that his agency had reached an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation to settle an investigation of the project. The proposal to expand Interstate 45, which has been in the works for nearly two decades, had been delayed since March 2021, when the federal agency began reviewing civil rights and environmental justice concerns.