Interstate 610 (Texas)

This article is about Interstate 610 in Texas. For the highway of the same designation in Louisiana, see Interstate 610 (Louisiana).

Interstate 610 marker

Interstate 610
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length: 38 mi[1] (61 km)
Existed: 1975 [1] – present
Major junctions
Beltway around Houston
  I-10
US 90
I-69 / US 59
I-45
US 290
SH 288
SH 225
Highway system
I-410I-635

Interstate 610 (abbreviated I-610) is a freeway that forms a 38-mile-long (61 km) loop around the downtown sector of city of Houston, Texas. Interstate 610, colloquially known as The Loop, Loop 610, The Inner Loop, or just 610, traditionally marks the border between the inner city of Houston ("inside the Loop") and its surrounding areas. It is the inner of the three Houston beltways, the other two being Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tollway) and State Highway 99 (Grand Parkway), of which various segments are under construction or planning. It is one of four interstate loops not to share its route with another interstate freeway, the others being I-270, I-295, and I-485.

In Houston the area inside the 610 Loop is the urban core. Jeff Balke of the Houston Press wrote that the freeway "is as much a social and philosophical divide as a physical one."[2]

Route description

Major segments of Interstate 610 are known as the North Loop, the South Loop, the East Loop, and the West Loop. The North Loop runs from U.S. Highway 290 to U.S. Highway 90. The East Loop runs from Highway 90 to State Highway 225. The West Loop runs from Highway 290 to the South Post Oak Road spur, and the South Loop runs from South Post Oak Road to Highway 225. Sometimes, a direction name is added as a suffix to denote a more specific part of a portion of the loop and this does not denote the direction of traffic flow.[3] For example:

Lane configurations

I-610 seen from Park Towers South (North Post Oak and I-610) in Houston; view toward south and toward the interchange with I-69/US 59
I-610 "West Loop South" just south from I-10 west

Starting at U.S. Highway 290, moving in a clockwise direction, mainlane counts are as follows:[11]

History

I-610 eastbound at US 290 in Houston
I-610 "West Loop South" just south from I-10 west. View toward North from Park Towers South

The concept of building a bypass highway around Houston was first proposed in 1931, but plans did not begin to formalize until 1941. The loop was initially proposed to transport troops and materials around the city. On May 3, Harris County voters approved a bond to build the "Defense Loop". It was officially designated as Loop 137 in 1942, and the North Loop was approved by the Texas Transportation Commission. World War II delayed construction of the Loop until the 1950s.

In July 1953, the city of Houston asked the Texas Transportation Commission to include 2 new sections of Loop 137 (the West Loop and the South Loop) as part of the state's highway system. It was initially rejected, but in October 1954, the North Loop was upgraded to a freeway, and the West and South Loops were approved as freeways.

When the Interstate Highway system was authorized in 1956, the then C-shaped Loop 137 (now designated Interstate 610) was adopted into the plan. The East Loop would not be approved until 1960. That segment was finished in 1973 with the opening of the Sidney Sherman Bridge over the Houston Ship Channel.

Construction on the North Loop began in 1950. Construction was sporadic throughout the 1950s and 1960s. It was completed in 1976 with the interchange that connects Loop 610 to Interstate 10 east of Houston.

In the early 1990s, TxDOT proposed a widening project for the West Loop, which at the time was the busiest freeway in Houston. One of the proposals was for a dual-dual freeway with a total of 24 lanes in some places, which would have made it the widest freeway in the world. Amid vocal opposition and little apparent support, the plans for expansion were cancelled.[12]

In the late 1990s, the need to repave and reconstruct portions of the West Loop became evident. The reconstruction project was approved, but only as a "no-capacity-added" project; only safety and structural improvements could be made.[12][13] However, some Houston residents have noted that merging lanes and exit ramps are particularly long and in effect, serve as additional lanes.[14]

As of 2014, the segment of the West Loop from the Katy Freeway to the Southwest Freeway is ranked by TxDOT as the most congested roadway in the state, based on annual hours of delay per mile.[15]

Exit list

The entire highway is in Harris County.

LocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
Houston1A FM 521 (Almeda Road)Eastbound (counterclockwise) exit and westbound (clockwise) entrance
1BFannin Street
1CKirby Drive
2
Alt. US 90 (South Main Street) / Buffalo Speedway
3Stella Link Road
4ASouth Braeswood Boulevard / North Braeswood Boulevard
4BSouth Post Oak RoadSigned direction switches between east–west and north–south
5ABeechnut Streetno direct northbound (clockwise) exit (signed at exit 4A)
Bellaire5BEvergreen Streetno direct southbound (counterclockwise) exit (signed at exit 6)
6Bellaire Boulevard
7Bissonnet Street / Fournace Placeno direct northbound (clockwise) exit (signed at exit 6)
Houston7Westpark DriveNorthbound (clockwise) exit and southbound (counterclockwise) entrance
8A I-69 / US 59 Victoria, Downtown Houston
8BHidalgo Street / Richmond AvenueSouthbound (counterclockwise) exit and northbound (clockwise) entrance
8C FM 1093 (Westheimer Road)
9San Felipe Road / Post Oak BoulevardSigned as exits 9A (San Felipe Road) and 9B (Post Oak Boulevard) southbound (counterclockwise)
10Woodway Drive / Memorial Drivetwo identical exits southbound (counterclockwise): 10B before the merge from I-10 and 10A after
11 I-10 (US 90) San Antonio, Downtown HoustonI-10 exit 763
12West 18th Street / Hempstead Roadnorthbound (clockwise) exit and southbound (counterclockwise) entrance
13A US 290 west AustinNorthbound signed as exit 13B
13BWest T.C. Jester Boulevard / East T.C. Jester Boulevard
14 Ella BoulevardAccess to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital
15 Spur 261 (North Shepherd Drive) / North Durham DriveAccess to Northwest Health Center
16Yale Street / North Main StreetSigned as exits 16A (Yale Street) and 16B (North Main Street) eastbound (clockwise)
17AAirline DriveEastbound (clockwise) exit and westbound (counterclockwise) entrance
17 I-45 Dallas, Downtown Houston, IAH AirportSigned as exits 17B (north) and 17C (south); I-45 exit 51
18Irvington Boulevard / Fulton Street
19AHardy Street / Jensen Driveeastbound (clockwise) exit and westbound (counterclockwise) entrance
19B Hardy Toll Road north (Spur 548)
20 I-69 / US 59 Cleveland, Downtown HoustonSigned as exits 20A (north) and 20B (south) westbound (counterclockwise)
20CHirsch Roadno direct eastbound (clockwise) exit (signed at exit 21)
21 Lockwood DriveAccess to Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital
22Homestead Road / Kelley Street
23AKirkpatrick Boulevard
23BNorth Wayside Drive / Liberty Road
24
Bus. US 90 east (McCarty Drive / US 90 Alt. west) / Wallisville Road
signed as exits 24A (US 90 Bus.) and 24B (Wallisville Road) northbound (counterclockwise)
25Gellhorn DriveSouthbound (clockwise) exit and northbound (counterclockwise) entrance
26A I-10 (US 90) Beaumont, Liberty, Downtown HoustonI-10 exit 775A; no access from I-610 south (clockwise) to US 90 east or US 90 west to I-610 north (counterclockwise)
26BMarket StreetNorthbound (counterclockwise) exit and southbound (clockwise) entrance
27Turning Basin DriveNo northbound (counterclockwise) exit
28Clinton Drive
29Port of Houston Main Entrance
30AManchester Streetsouthbound (clockwise) exit and northbound (counterclockwise) entrance
30B-C SH 225 Pasadena, La PorteSigned as exits 30B (east) and 30C (west)
30DLawndale Avenueno direct southbound (clockwise) exit (signed at exit 30C)
31Broadway Boulevard
32 I-45 / SH 35 south Galveston, Alvin, Downtown Houston, Hobby AirportSigned as exits 32A (I-45 south) and 32B (I-45 north / SH 35 south); I-45 exit 40
33Woodridge Drive / Telephone Road
34ASouth Wayside Drive / Long Drive
35Crestmont Street / M.L. King Boulevard / Mykawa Road
36ACalais Road / Holmes Road / M.L. King Boulevard
36B FM 865 (Cullen Boulevard)no direct westbound (clockwise) exit (signed at exit 36A)
37Scott Street
38A SH 288 Lake Jackson, Freeport, Downtown Houston, IAH AirportSigned as exits 38A (north) and 38C (south) eastbound (counterclockwise)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Interstate Highway No. 610". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation.
  2. Balke, Jeff. "10 Things You Say That Make You a Houstonian." Houston Press. Tuesday October 21, 2014. p. 2 (Archive). Retrieved on October 24, 2014.
  3. "Clearing up confusion of multiple highway names". Houston Chronicle. November 20, 2005.
  4. Google (September 7, 2006). "North Loop Fwy W" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
  5. Google (September 7, 2006). "North Loop Fwy E" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
  6. Google (September 7, 2006). "East Loop Fwy N" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
  7. Google (September 7, 2006). "South Loop Fwy E" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
  8. Google (September 7, 2006). "South Loop Fwy W" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
  9. Google (September 7, 2006). "Interstate 610 (Texas)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
  10. Google (September 7, 2006). "West Loop Fwy N" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
  11. Slotboom, Erik. "Notes and Index" (PDF). Houston Freeways. Self-published.
  12. 1 2 Slotboom, Erik. "The Loop, Interstate 610" (PDF). Houston Freeways. Self-published. Retrieved December 15, 2006.
  13. Sallee, Rad (December 3, 2006). "Reader worries drivers will take turn for the worse". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 15, 2006.
  14. Sallee, Rad (November 26, 2006). "More buildings checked for 'stray' Metro current". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved December 15, 2006.
  15. "100 Congested Roadways". Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
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