The closure of an busy highway ramp could domino into slower traffic throughout southwest Houston until 2022.
Both the northbound and southbound ramps from U.S. 59 to West Loop 610 northbound will be closed by early next week. The ramp from the U.S. 59 northbound lanes will close Thursday night, while the ramp from the southbound lanes will close Monday.
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That means if you’re heading anywhere on U.S. 59 and want to head toward The Galleria, you have to find another route.
The ramps are set to be demolished and replaced, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Here’s a map of what the closures will look like:
Drivers on U.S. 59 northbound should go south on West Loop 610, then make a U-turn at Fournace Place and head back north on the Loop.
But the detour for drivers on U.S. 59 southbound will likely cause a collective headache.
The transportation department suggests taking the exit for Newcastle Drive and merging with the northbound lanes of West Loop 610 after following the frontage road through the light at Richmond Avenue.
What a nightmare.
Drivers will sit through two sets of lights and encounter traffic from those who normally use the Newcastle exit to go home or to work.
The two-lane frontage road also tapers down to one lane as it shifts north along the Loop, then merges with existing frontage road traffic just before the light at Richmond Avenue.
That bottleneck will add drive-time and shorten tempers.
The work is part of an ongoing $259 million project to revamp the 59/610 interchange in southwest Houston. The closure will last until early 2022.
Know a better detour? Let me know on Twitter: @jayrjordan