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Upcoming construction on I-45 and US59 near downtown


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On 6/27/2018 at 2:08 PM, samagon said:

 

For the amount of concrete, I think it's going to be 2 lanes that exit for downtown.

 

 

it's part of the good news:

The good news
The Gulf Freeway connector to I-69 northbound through downtown Houston is scheduled to open in August, along with the at-grade exit to St. Joseph Parkway and Pease Street.

 

ultimately, you get 3 options:

 

1. exit at the st.joseph/pease exit and enter 59 south at webster street.

 

2. stay on 45, exit for i-10 east, exit for 59 south.

 

3. exit 45 for 59 north, exit 59 for i10 west, exit i10 for 45 south, exit 45 for 59 south.

 

Option 4: Go the opposite direction on 45 to begin with and get on 610 and go to that interchange because I'm sure they wouldn't work on 2 interchanges at once that would hinder congestion relief

 

(really though half of 610's major interchanges are under construction at once)

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  • 4 weeks later...
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1 hour ago, samagon said:

wow, that's accelerated from the timeline they provided. I wonder if the rest of it will be accelerated (59 sb closure, and downtown exit opening)?

 

Is it that accelerated? I thought on-time opening was next month (August)? I could be wrong though.

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The new ramp from 45 to downtown will be opening monday

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/transportation/2018/08/02/298537/txdot-says-redesigned-exit-should-help-traffic-flow-at-a-freeway-hotspot/

 

Quote

TxDOT’s Deidrea George said the revamped exit should be open by Monday morning’s commute.

“It will feed directly from 45 northbound,” explained George. “And there will also be two lanes versus the one-lane exit that was there.”

And George said having a ground-level exit will greatly help traffic flow.

“The addition of the extra lane will definitely help to take traffic off of the freeway and move them out onto the frontage road quicker, which will also free up some of the traffic holdup on 45 northbound,”

 

It looks like opening the Cullen ramp is next.  It's unclear when they are going to do 45 N -> 59 S

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3 hours ago, Triton said:

Dashcam video I took of the new ramp:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn-pQVG_FcY

Like. :)

 

I could watch the Houston skyline taken from a moving car all day. I wish there was a moving car webcam for people like me who don't live in Houston anymore so that we could watch the city grow in real time. I even wouldn't mind being in a 'virtual' Houston traffic jam as long as I can see the towers from all those angles at once.

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https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/transportation/2018/08/02/298537/txdot-says-redesigned-exit-should-help-traffic-flow-at-a-freeway-hotspot/

 

"After last week’s opening of the direct connector between I-45 northbound and U.S. 59/I-69 North, TxDOT will now open the new St. Joseph Parkway-Pease Street exit to help get traffic into downtown Houston.  TxDOT’s Deidrea George said the revamped exit should be open by Monday morning’s commute."

 

Finally! .... no more having to exit onto Scott Street to get home to EaDo. 

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On 8/4/2018 at 9:28 AM, cspwal said:

My question is how bad will the congestion be on 45 to get to this new ramp

it will be worse for getting downtown than it used to be.

 

but for the people going south and north on 59 it will be far better, and there seems to be many more gulf freeway to 59 drivers than gulf freeway to downtown drivers, or they wouldn't have made the switch.

 

it might be quicker to get downtown to exit scott and get on the feeder, rather than stay on 45 to the "downtown exit"

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5 minutes ago, samagon said:

it will be worse for getting downtown than it used to be.

 

but for the people going south and north on 59 it will be far better, and there seems to be many more gulf freeway to 59 drivers than gulf freeway to downtown drivers, or they wouldn't have made the switch.

 

it might be quicker to get downtown to exit scott and get on the feeder, rather than stay on 45 to the "downtown exit"

 

Some drivers might opt to use the HOT lane that feeds into St. Joseph Pkwy. to get downtown if congestion pricing is in effect.

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Took the new dwntn exit a couple weeks ago, and waited 15 minutes in traffic to get there. I am doubtful that opening of the southbound 59 exit is going to drastically improve the situation. I am worried at TXDoT just traded one problem for another.

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  • 3 months later...

does anyone know when work is going to get going again?

 

seems like they opened the 59 north ramp, the downtown exit, and work has been pretty still for at least, if not longer than a month now. 

 

the problem is, I popped my popcorn to eat while watching everyone going to 59 south scramble around while their exit is closed, and it's getting cold.

 

is there a logistical issue? lining up equipment to ensure the quickest possible time between closure?

 

I assume it's not the contractor declaring bankruptcy, while I know that happens on smaller projects, you'd think the state wouldn't hire someone that might do that for such a big project.

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  • 3 weeks later...
6 minutes ago, samagon said:

another month of no progress.

 

anyone have any details?

 

The ramp was scheduled to close in October, we're servicing December now. 

I am guessing they are waiting to finish the Cullen ramp first?

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19 hours ago, samagon said:

 

they are just going so slow, especially compared to how fast everything seemed to be going at the beginning.

I just can't imagine how much of a mess the 59 south closure is going to cause. It's a different level of traffic compared to the north. 

 

Does anyone know the detour? Go down St Joseph Parkway and then make a left at Hamilton?

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On 12/5/2018 at 11:51 AM, Triton said:

I just can't imagine how much of a mess the 59 south closure is going to cause. It's a different level of traffic compared to the north. 

 

Does anyone know the detour? Go down St Joseph Parkway and then make a left at Hamilton?

 

this is my concern.

 

I did notice that they removed the forms on what will be the new ramp columns. so progress, just slower than block 334 apartments.

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  • 1 month later...

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