Houston highway construction

Houston, Texas, USA, with a city population of AbOUT 2.2 million and metro population of 5.6 million, has Undergone ongoing construction to serve the many thousands of cars using the major freeways, most built in the 1950s and 1960s. The two decades were a time of expansion for Houston, and after the Interstate Highway System was established in the late 1950s, Houston shifted focus onto automobile transportation, leaving behind rail transportation. The freeways and tollways (bold if under construction) are:

  • Interstate 610
  • Interstate 10
  • Interstate 45
  • Beltway 8
  • U.S. Route 59
  • U.S. Route 290
  • Texas State Highway 288
  • Westpark Tollway

Some other popular secondary highways and roads include:

  • U.S. Route 90 Alternate
  • FM 1093
  • Memorial Drive
  • Texas State Highway 99
  • Texas State Highway 225
  • Texas State Highway 249
  • Hardy Toll Road

These roads are meant to connect central Houston with many hundreds of suburbs outside the city.

The Katy Freeway: 2002-2009

The Katy Freeway, or the western stretch of Interstate 10 from Katy to Interstate 610, is under major renovation for reasons of traffic capacity & age.

First built in the 1960s, the Katy Freeway is in worn shape and needs a facelift to appeal to the ever growing West Houston Area. The freeway holds about 240,000 cars per day, and only has 6 mainlanes.

Clearing land

In 1992, Union Pacific agreed to sell a 20-mile strip of railway running parallel to the freeway for roughly $75 million to the Texas Department Of Transportation (TXDoT). Over time, the freight railway was demolished, Providing extra space for future construction. This was the first publicly seen part of the project.

Proof of a freight railway can be seen here. A spur of the railway (the brown line down the middle) can be seen ending at a docking station near a Roomstore furniture store (the large building on the right). This is the only part of the railway left, probably owned by Roomstore.

In addition to the removal of the rail line, some extra land was cleared and leveled to provide space for extra mainlanes near Old Katy Road.

Construction

By 2004, new overpasses were under construction and supporting poles were being built. In 2005, concrete was finally laid in some areas, and the Beltway 8 intersection was making ProgresS. Some sections of The New mainlines (going east only) were opened to the public in late '05, and westbound in the summer of 2006.

Also in 2006, some overpasses were almost completed and certain areas being painted near I-610. The continuing construction causes traffic and lane closures across the freeway.

The Gulf Freeway: 2004-2008

To handle the large traffic flow to and from Galveston and NASA Johnson Space Center, projects on the Gulf Freeway have begun to partly rebuild the freeway, first incorporated in the 1950s.

Construction

The City of Houston only owns a small amount of land in the area, so the city's contribution to the freeway is limited. The city has covered a half-mile area with asphalt to smooth out the road, but hasn't planned to expand lane capacity.

Farther south, some new exit ramps and overpasses are under construction, but only a small amount. These projects are making slow progress, and it isn't known if any further projects, to demolish or build, are underway.

West Loop: Part I, 2003-2006; Part II, 2003-2008

To ease the heavy traffic around the Post Oak and Galleria areas south of Interstate 10, a large construction project to expand the Interstate 610 (the West Loop) is almost complete.

Construction

The focus of the freeway shifted to A Different View, to provide a large, comfortable freeway for drivers and also improved architecture for the upscale uptown district.

The new freeway is seen as an expansion of the Katy Freeway Project, due to the similarity in architecture within both projects.

A very complex problem for drivers and builders, the project called for a very large system of exit and entrance ramps and a wide, smooth freeway. The largest problem was around the Memorial Drive/Woodway intersection, where traffic was clogged numerous times due to lane closures. Other areas included the Katy Freeway entrance ramps (both east and west), where both exits were closed many times for construction.

The project officially finished in September 2006, where mayor Bill White cut the opening ribbon on the Memorial Drive exit ramp. Some finishing touches continued afterwards, yet the I-10/I-610 junction is not scheduled for completion until December 2007.

Katy Freeway/West Loop Interchange

The I-10/I-610 Junction is going through a major renovation project. About three-quarters of this section is complete, yet the majority of the junction is still under construction.

Many major parts have been completed, such as the I-610 overpass, but other parts are not complete. The junction has been going through major delays, pushing the timetable a little bit further.

The beautification project for the junction has already started. Grass is being laid out in small quantities in some completed ares, and soon trees and bushes will be planted in late 2007.

Texas State Highway 99

Construction started on Texas State Highway 99 in the early 2000s, as part of A Plan to build a new loop around the Houston city area.

Located between George Bush Park and Katy, the highway will have the potential of becoming a major freeway for Katy residents traveling to George Bush Intercontinental Airport and other areas in north Houston.

Construction

The freeway is making slow progress north. Construction began in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and construction dates can be traced back to 1996 .

The freeway's construction hasn't caused as much hype as the Katy Freeway because of it's rural position, so not much else is known about the progress of the freeway.

Future projects

There are future projects which haven't been started yet. These projects are either in the stage of considiration or are being planned.

Interstate 69

During the expansion of Interstate 69 into Texas, the freeway could follow many possible routes in Houston. The most reasonable route is to follow the route of Highway 59, but this decision hasn't been confirmed yet. Other possible routes include Beltway 8 or Interstate 610.

The main idea is to have I-69 follow a highway that has already been constructed. Demolishing homes for the construction of the freeway would lead to a strong opposition from residents and would decrease land value in neighborhoods.

Hardy Toll Road

Discussion has already started on expanding the Hardy Toll Road, the strip of toll road running parallel to Interstate 45 (from North Houston to Interstate 610), into downtown Houston.

The advantage of this decision would be a fast traffic flow from downtown north to George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Even though discussions are showing a good chance of the plan, no construction plans or routes have been confirmed yet.

US 290

Reconstruction of U.S. 290 from Interstate 610 to Beltway 8 is "next on the table" after completion of the Katy Freeway. Current plans include an additional general-purpose lane in each direction, as well as HCTRA-managed toll lanes. The new toll lanes and HOV lanes are proposed to run along Hempsted Highway. Also, a commuter rail line will be built right next to the freeway.

See also

  • Transportation in Houston
  • List of Houston highways