TxDOT’s plan — a huge loss for Houston.

Despite widespread opposition from city leaders, community groups, and residents alike, TxDOT insists on pushing their destructive, outdated plan that will ruin valuable city amenities without improving mobility.

Our Dream, Their Scheme

Take a look at our side-by-side renderings of the White Oak Bayou space and decide which future you would like to see for Houston.

White Oak Bayou Park looking towards downtown — We can have a beautiful vista of downtown

TxDOTs plan looking towards downtown — or this view of concrete freeway overpasses

White Oak Bayou Park looking north from UH Downtown — We can have a flowered bayou path from UH Downtown

TxDOT plan looking north from UH Downtown — or we can have it ruined by TxDOT's plan

A giant step backward

TxDOT’s planned 90 foot elevation and expansion of I-10 from Heights Boulevard to I-45 is widely opposed by the community for its negative impact on the greenways, bayou, and adjacent neighborhoods.

Taylor Woods — Taylor woods is home to variety of native wildlife, including the Great Blue Heron

Taylor Woods TxDOT — TxDOT's plan would replace it with a detention basin to manage flood water from their highway expansion*

The planned I-45 expansion will place thirty-one lanes over White Oak Bayou Greenway–bringing noise, pollution, and traffic congestion.

White Oak Bayou Greenway TxDOT plan — TxDOT's plan will place highway lanes over the top, cutting it in two and ruining what is left of it

Bad on many levels

Here are just a few reasons why the planned highway expansions are bad for Houston.

It will destroy park land

Re-routing I-45 and I-10 over White Oak Bayou Greenway will place 31 lanes of traffic over it, cutting in in half and ruining it for a generation. Elevated ramps will bring added noise and air pollution to Woodland and Stude Parks, degrading them severely.

It isn’t necessary

Over the past 10 years I-10 has been free of flooding 99.85% of the time. Even if TxDOT’s plan makes the highway available 100% of the time (it won’t) it will increase uptime by a max of 0.15%. Why are we spending $350 million and several years of construction on this?

It will take up to 10 years

And probably longer if you know anything about Houston highway construction. Think about how long you want to live with highway construction. A near-perpetual state of construction upheaval will unfairly tax the lives of all of us who will have to live next to it.

It is a waste of money

The I-10 elevation will cost a minimum of $350. Rerouting I-10 and I-45 over White Oak Bayou Greenway is part of a $5 billion plan. Think of how this money could be better spent on real mobility solutions that benefit all Houstonians.

It will increase pollution

At a time when we should be working to reverse the effects of pollution and climate change, TxDOT’s plan will make them worse. Increased vehicle capacity will add to more air pollution. Elevating the lanes will lead to greater noise pollution.

It will hurt home values

With the loss of views, increase in noise pollution and flooding, and degraded public areas, neighboring home values will decrease.

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*Due to immense public pushback TxDOT has amended their plans to take away less space from Taylor Woods, but without protection, there is no guarantee they won’t try to take it again in the future.