Moving I-45 to other side of downtown being called 1 of nation's most wasteful projects

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- It's a complete transformation of the downtown freeway.

The North Houston Highway Improvement Project calls for I-45 to be lifted from its current route to follow U.S. 59. The freeway will flow along the east side of the Central Business District and pair up with I-10 before splitting off north to continue its current path.

TxDOT and Houston city officials say the plan gets people out of single cars, will improve quality of life, and even decrease freeway crashes by 30%.

SEE ALSO: Could North Freeway changes bring more pollution to Houston?

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Frontier Group disagree. In their annual highway "boondoggle" report, they state the project would "harm communities, displace residents and destroy businesses."

According to officials, the cost of the project is $7 billion.

TxDOT has published the final documents outlining the social and economic impact of the project. Making the final documents public is a federal requirement before the project can break ground.

You can follow this link to review the documents.

You have until Feb. 7, 2020 to weigh in.

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