The Interstate 45 widening project, halted by a federal order and opposed by many local officials and organizations, could hit a new snag if White Oak Bayou becomes a city park.
If an initiative to designate Houston’s White Oak Bayou as a city park succeeds, the effort could throw another wrench in the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) plan to expand Interstate 45 in downtown Houston.
According to an article by Jay R. Jordan on Axios, “White Oak Bayou is primarily used as a flood control measure but includes amenities like hike and bike trails, as well as large swaths of open land where people congregate and play sports.” At-large Councilmember Letitia Plummer has revived a petition asking the mayor to allow the city council to vote on designating the area as a park, which would prevent TxDOT from building a highway over it.
The North Houston Highway Improvement Project has faced a slew of local objections and lawsuits that most recently culminated in a federal order to stop work on the project as the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) investigates allegations of civil rights violations.
FULL STORY: How a park designation could derail the I-45 expansion
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