Houston highway projects: status, cost and schedule

The North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) on I-45 is the largest program here: its 14 projects carry estimated contract costs totaling $9,474,699,000, Texas Mobility Outlook’s sum of the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) August 2026 figures.¹ The table tracks its three segments and 11 other projects.

I-45 NHHIP cost and schedule

TxDOT’s phasing graphic sums to $6.63 billion for Segment 3, the downtown loop; $1.70 billion for Segment 2, I-610 to I-10; and $1.15 billion for Segment 1, Beltway 8 North to I-610 (Texas Mobility Outlook’s sums). Its bars run from 2024 to 2038, and TxDOT calls every date preliminary.¹

Only Segment 3 is under construction. Drainage work along St. Emanuel St began in October 2024, and the rebuild of I-69 from SH 288 to I-45 in January 2025.²

TxDOT’s own pages disagree:

• Segment 2: $1.62 billion and a 2028 start on the segment page; $1,698,200,000 and a 2031-2038 timeline on TxDOT’s Texas Clear Lanes page.^3,4
• Segment 1: “$1.15 billion” in the page text and “Total cost = $907,200,000” on the same page. TxDOT anticipates a 2032 start and says the Segment 1 projects are unfunded and not actively in the detailed design stage.⁵
• I-69, SH 288 to I-45 (3B-2): $695.5 million on the graphic; $549.0 million, let Sept. 26, 2024, in TxDOT’s project database, TxDOT Connect. Texas Clear Lanes gives a 2032-2035 timeline, despite the January 2025 start.^4,6

The I-45 corridor guide lists all 14 projects with their estimates.

I-10 projects in Houston: Heights, Inner Katy and San Jacinto River

Heights Blvd to I-45. The project raises the I-10 main lanes above the White Oak Bayou floodplain. Texas Clear Lanes lists $407 million for 2024-2028; TxDOT Connect shows $345.0 million and 48.71% completion in a record updated Aug. 5, 2025.^4,6

Inner Katy managed lanes. TxDOT is studying a rebuild of 6.3 miles of I-10 from Voss Rd to I-45 with four managed lanes.⁷ Its summer 2025 newsletter targets a 2031 construction start.⁸ TxDOT Connect, updated Aug. 28, 2025, shows $900 million and an estimated letting of Jan. 15, 2037.⁶

San Jacinto River bridges. The project would replace the I-10 main lane bridges, built in 1968 and 1996. The undated project page says “approximately $555 million.”⁹ The TxDOT Connect record, updated Sept. 16, 2026, shows $951.3 million and an estimated letting of Nov. 1, 2029.⁶

I-610 projects: West Loop, SH 288, SH 35 and the Ship Channel bridge

I-69 at the West Loop. The interchange opened Aug. 1, 2024, after construction that began in September 2017.¹⁰ TxDOT puts the cost at $259 million.¹¹

I-610 at SH 288. The Cambridge St to Scott St project, with eight direct-connect ramps, opened July 1, 2025, at $117 million.¹²

SH 35 and I-610. Texas Clear Lanes lists an eight-lane freeway on new location with direct connectors at I-610, for $445 million over 2022-2027.⁴

Ship Channel crossing. A TxDOT Connect record, last updated Aug. 12, 2024, shows a $1.6 billion I-610 bridge replacement from north of Mississippi St to south of SH 225, with an estimated letting of June 1, 2038. It does not name the Sidney Sherman Bridge, built in 1973.^6,13

Beltway 8 Ship Channel Bridge: cost and opening dates

The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) is replacing the Sam Houston Tollway bridge over the Ship Channel. The Houston Chronicle reported on Sept. 3, 2026 that Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia expected the south half to open in spring 2027, carrying both directions, and the second half by the end of 2030.¹⁴ HCTRA’s December 2024 traffic and revenue study had given January 2028.¹⁵

Cost figures come from news reports. The Chronicle called it a $1.3 billion project in January 2026, then reported that 2021 county records put the total at about $1.45 billion after an added $390.3 million.^14,16 The Beltway 8 guide covers the bridge’s history.

HCTRA construction in progress

HCTRA reported $1,528,703,930 of construction in progress at Sept. 30, 2025, up $287.5 million in a year (computed), plus $296,565,540 in construction commitments. That is a capital asset balance, not a budget for one project. HCTRA names the Hardy Toll Road Downtown Connector, the Ship Channel Bridge and widening parts of the Sam Houston Tollway as its major construction projects.¹⁷

SH 288 free lanes and SH 225 at Beltway 8

TxDOT ended the SH 288 toll lane concession on Oct. 8, 2024, after announcing a $1.7 billion buyout that included free lanes “no later than 2030.”^18,19 TxDOT Connect lists two projects between I-610 and Beltway 8, each estimated at $141.9 million, with lettings on March 1, 2029 and March 1, 2030, the year TxDOT set as its deadline.⁶ See the SH 288 guide.

The SH 225 interchange at Beltway 8 is in design at $56 million, with an estimated letting of Jan. 15, 2029.⁶ Harris County’s toll revenue contributions to TxDOT, $400 million in total, include interchange work there.¹⁷

Project 11: Houston Ship Channel expansion status

Project 11 widens the Galveston Bay reach of the channel from 530 to 700 feet and deepens some upstream segments to 46.5 feet.²⁰ Port Houston announced that its share of the dredging was complete on Oct. 27, 2025.²¹ The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers leads the remaining work at Barbours Cut, where its dredging contractor was remobilizing in May 2026.^22,23 Port Houston says the project is scheduled to finish by 2029.²² Texas Mobility Outlook found no published total cost. See Port Houston and commercial truck traffic.

Recently completed Houston highway projects

Besides the two I-610 interchanges, TxDOT finished its $141 million I-10 project from FM 359 to the Brazos River in July 2025.¹² Texas Clear Lanes lists two finished Gulf Freeway (I-45) projects: NASA 1 to FM 518 ($99.8 million, 2017-2023) and FM 517 to FM 1764 ($240 million, 2018-2023).⁴ Congestion data for the first are in Houston highway construction and work zone crashes.

Why project costs and dates differ

TxDOT publishes project figures in at least three places: project pages, the Texas Clear Lanes list and TxDOT Connect. The pages are mostly undated; each database record carries an update date. Labels differ too (“estimated contract cost,” “estimated construction cost,” “total cost”), and TxDOT does not say whether they cover the same scope. Where official figures conflict, this page shows both with their dates.