THE ANTI-MOSES:

Residents of Houston and elected officials have been trying to stop the largest urban highway project of their lifetimes. In 2017, the Texas Department of Transportation announced plans for the North Houston Highway Improvement Project, which would expand Interstate 45--and displace more than 1,000 homes, hundreds of businesses, five houses of worship, and two schools in neighborhoods like Houston's Independence Heights. It's essentially a battle between the state government and Harris County: The former says the expansion is needed because traffic will go up 40 percent by 2040, while the latter says traffic has been falling on I-45 since 2008, and mass displacement will only inflict more damage, among other points of dispute. This conflict has delayed construction of the project for four years now--and this month, Pete Buttigieg's U.S. Department of Transportation stepped in, asking Texas' DOT to pause the project as it investigates civil rights concerns. 

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