The United States Department of Transportation announced Harris County Precinct 4 as the winner of a $2 million grant for its Interstate 10 Inner Katy Cap Park study. This grant is part of the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, a $5 billion federal investment by the Biden-Harris Administration to address infrastructure barriers across the United States.

The I-10 Katy freeway is the widest highway in the nation. Since its construction in the 1960s, the I-10 corridor has shaped the city’s urban landscape and driven economic growth throughout the region. It has also created physical barriers between several vibrant and historic neighborhoods, including Houston Heights, Memorial Heights, Crestwood, Glen Cove, Cottage Grove, the Washington Avenue Coalition, and Rice Military.

The widening of the freeway over the years has further entrenched the divide between the surrounding neighborhoods. 

The study will assess the feasibility of creating a community supported cap park throughout a 3.2 mile stretch of the Katy Freeway from the White Oak Bayou to Old Katy Road.

The cap park would reconnect previously fragmented sidewalk networks, creating continuous, safe pathways on both sides of I-10, enhancing pedestrian, bike, and transit options and access to essential services.

“Infrastructure decisions made decades ago have had a lasting impact on this area. The study will allow us to prioritize future infrastructure investments that will improve public safety and access to schools, healthcare facilities, and workplaces,” Commissioner Lesley Briones said. “By creating new interactions, we will foster a new sense of place, community, and economic opportunity. I am grateful to the Biden-Harris administration, for this investment in the future of the Inner Katy Corridor.”

“Through the Katy Cap Park study we are looking to reconnect the communities with a series of innovative, small, park caps over the freeway. These parklets will not only create safer, more accessible connections for people walking or biking between the north and south portions of the freeway but also reimagine how we utilize urban spaces to place-make and bring communities together,” Precinct 4’s Chief Infrastructure Officer, Dr. Reynaldo Guerra said.

The federal funds will cover 80% of the study’s estimated $2.5 million cost; Precinct 4 will cover the remaining 20% ($500,000).