For immediate release

MEDIA ADVISORY: PUBLIC COMMENTS TO CALL ON MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER TO HOLD TXDOT ACCOUNTABLE ON THE PROPOSED I-45 EXPANSION

(HOUSTON, TX) – Air Alliance Houston, LINK Houston, as well as other members of the Make I-45 Better Coalition and Stop TxDOT I-45, will join concerned residents to address City Council on Tuesday, January 28 at 2:00 p.m. The speakers will urge Mayor Sylvester Turner to provide greater clarity on his criteria for continuing to support the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP).

As a result of community members’ serious concerns about the negative impacts of the proposed NHHIP on neighborhoods, Mayor Turner in April 2019 directed the City of Houston’s Planning and Development Department to lead a public engagement process to design alternatives that would better address deficiencies in TxDOT’s planned NHHIP. Residents and advocates applaud the Mayor’s public engagement on the project. Residents and advocates are also calling for the Mayor to outline his criteria for moving forward with the project in a way that holds TXDOT accountable for addressing the displacement of families’ homes and jobs, historical preservation, flooding, air quality, and street safety.

The $7-billion, 24-mile highway expansion project will focus on I-45 North, spanning from Downtown to Greenspoint, as well as intersecting segments of I-10, I-610, and SH-59. The proposed project will have “disproportionate high and adverse impacts to minority and low-income populations,” as described by TxDOT in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Concerned residents deserve to hold the Mayor to his statement that it is “TxDOT’s responsibility to design a project with positive impacts for the community, the City of Houston, and the greater region.”

WHAT: Public Comments by concerned residents and advocates calling on Mayor Turner to ensure TxDOT designs the NHHIP with positive changes for the Houston region and mitigate adverse impacts to communities adjacent to I-45

WHEN: Tuesday, January 28 at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: Houston City Council, 901 Bagby Street, Houston, TX 77002

WHO: Air Alliance Houston, LINK Houston, Make I-45 Better Coalition, Stop TxDOT I-45, and concerned residents

Speakers will be available for one-on-one interviews following the City Council session.

For more information, please contact Riikka Pohjankoski at [email protected] or 713-528-3779, or Ines Sigel at [email protected] or 713-353-4604.

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