I had managed to forget that this was out there. And then I had to get on I-10 west on Monday morning and was rudely reminded.
A major construction project off Interstate 10 has kicked off with the intent to elevate the highway, reduce flooding in the area, and remove a pesky bridge that has been the source of dozens of 18-wheeler crashes.
But the construction, which kicked off Monday, will cause a traffic nightmare.
The five-lane westbound highway will now shrink to a three-lane roadway from Taylor Street to the Heights Boulevard exit. The two closed lanes will open back up after that exit. Commuters might have to live with that change for the foreseeable future, as the entire project won’t be completed until late 2028.
One of the end results of the construction project will be the removal of the Houston Avenue bridge, under I-10. That bridge, which is the scene of dozens of incidents each year, is frequently hit by 18-wheelers trying to squeeze under the overpass. The work is expected to last from mid-2025 through late 2027.
[…]
According to previous Chron reporting, TxDOT made some changes to the original elevation plan, lowering I-10 main lanes east of Studemont, ten feet lower than existing lanes with a max height of about 120 feet above Houston Avenue due to community resistance.
Main lanes would be kept at or below existing HOV lanes, with a max height of 70 feet, according to the agency.
See here, here, and here for some background. I’m just going to say what I said before, because it remains the truth: This is going to suck, bigtime. And we’ll be hip deep in I-45 construction well before this is over. 2025 is already on my short list of “worst years ever” and we’re not even in February. ABC13 has more.