Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

The 23-Lane Katy Freeway: A Monument to Texas Transportation Futility

Fast-growing Texas cities have an enormous traffic problem -- that much isn't in dispute. But the response has been myopic: pouring more and more money into widening highways. Even the road engineers at the Texas Transportation Institute recently acknowledged there's no way these cities can fund and build highway lanes fast enough to keep pace with population growth. That's in no small part because widening and expanding highways fuels sprawl that induces more car trips, TTI acknowledged.

Twenty-three lanes for the Katy Freeway and traffic is moving 51 percent slower. Photo: Houston Tomorrow
The 23-lane Katy Freeway doesn't look like this at rush hour. Photo: Houston Tomorrow
false

Jay Crossley at Houston Tomorrow crunched the numbers after the infamous Katy Freeway widening. U.S. Representative John Culberson recently bragged in Congress about how this $2.8 billion expansion "from eight lanes to 23 lanes" has resulted in "moving more cars in less time, more savings to taxpayers than any other transportation project in the history of Houston."

In fact, reports Crossley, all that money seems to be doing a great job of generating more traffic:

Houston commutes continue to get worse despite billions in spending on new road capacity. Traveling from Downtown outbound on the I-10 Katy Freeway to Pin Oak took 51% more time in 2014 than in 2011, according to Houston Tomorrow analysis of Houston Transtar data. The Houston region in recent years has been spending the most per capita on new roads of the ten largest metropolitan regions in the nation.

In 2014, during peak rush hour, it took 70 minutes, 27 seconds to travel from Downtown, past Beltway 8, all the way to Pin Oak, just past the Katy Mills Mall. In 2011, this same trip took 46 minutes, 53 seconds.

The addition of single occupant vehicle capacity (SOV) and toll lanes to Katy Freeway completed in 2010 cost $2.8 billion. This was $1.63 billion more than the original 2001 price tag of $1.17 billion, according to the Federal Highway Administration.

To the north, this is why Patrick Kennedy at D Magazine has been arguing that Dallas must shift course, invest in creating walkable places and options other than driving. So far, the message has not sunk in at the state legislature. But it is beginning to make headway in Dallas.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Greater Greater Washington writes that incomes are rising in DC, but not for the people who were born there. ATL Urbanist reports that Atlanta is seeking TIGER funding to link its new streetcar to the Beltline project. And Streets.mn shares a classic cartoon about American car culture from Ken Avidor.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

New Bill Would Block Apps From Deactivating Workers Without Cause

A Brooklyn Council member wants delivery app companies to be more human and less robot.

July 18, 2025

Friday Video: Is Berlin a Great Biking City?

Have recent moves by anti-bike, pro-car legislators ruined the experience in the capital of a unified Germany? Sort of!

July 18, 2025

Eyes on the Street: Meeker Avenue Bike Lane Is a Failure

The Department of Transportation still hasn't finished a critical bike lane under the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that the agency has been stalling for over four years even after identifying the strip's danger and lack of proper signals.

July 18, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Cuomo’s Road Rage Edition

Why does Andrew Cuomo drive so recklessly? Plus other news.

July 18, 2025

Fixing Third Ave. Was Once ‘Top of List’ For Eric Adams — But as Mayor He Backed Off

Mayor Adams has delayed a redesign of Brooklyn's Third Avenue despite once saying safety fixes there should be "at the top of our list."

July 17, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Jerry Nadler Edition

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler faced off with Sean Duffy on Capitol Hill. Plus more news.

July 17, 2025
See all posts