Federal DOT Halts Texas Highway Expansion Project Over Civil Rights Concerns

The federal Department of Transportation has stepped in to halt a $7 billion highway expansion project in Texas to widen I-45 on the edge of downtown Houston.

The department cited the Civil Rights Act because the plan to widen the highway would displace about 1,300 homes, schools, businesses and houses of worship in communities of color. The Biden administration has vowed to make racial equity a central focus of its policies, including infrastructure.

Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd speaks with Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who's the chief executive of the county that includes Houston and is opposed to the highway expansion plan.