The northbound connector ramp from Hwy. 59 to northbound Loop 610 in southwest Houston will close completely starting at 9 p.m. June 10 and remain closed until early 2022, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. On June 14, the southbound connector ramp from Hwy. 59 to northbound Loop 610 will close and remain closed through around late 2021.
Crews will demolish the ramps during the closure and replace them with new, higher two-lane ramps in the same location, according to a news release from TxDOT.
The closures were initially set to take effect June 3, but were delayed because of heavy rainfall.
During the closure, northbound drivers on Hwy. 59 will be detoured to Loop 610 southbound, where they will exit at Fournace Place/Bissonnet Street, U-turn at Bissonnet and take the Loop 610 entrance ramp to enter the Loop 610 northbound main lanes. Southbound drivers will be detoured to the Newcastle Drive exit, where they will take the Hwy. 59 southbound frontage road to the Loop 610 northbound frontage road to access the entrance to Loop 610 main lanes.
Several other closures will hit the interchange over the weekend, according to Houston TranStar.
- Hwy. 59 northbound at Loop 610 will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday, June 11, through 5 a.m. Monday, June 14. Drivers will be detoured to southbound Loop 610, where they will exit at Fournace Place/Bissonnet Street, U-turn at Bissonnet to the Loop 610 frontage roads, enter the Loop 610 northbound main lanes and take the direct connector to Hwy. 59 northbound.
- Hwy. 59 southbound from Newcastle Drive to South Rice Avenue will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday, June 11, through 5 a.m. Monday, June 14. Drivers will be detoured to the Loop 610 northbound mainlanes, where they will take the Westheimer Road exit to the Loop 610 frontage road, U-turn at Westheimer and take the entrance to the southbound Hwy. 59 main lanes.
- Hwy. 59 southbound entrance ramp from Weslayan Street: Will be closed from 9 p.m., June 11, until further notice.
The closures are part of an ongoing $259 million construction project at the Loop 610 and Hwy. 59 interchange intended to improve safety and mobility, according to TxDOT. Problems the project seeks to rectify include replacing one-lane connector ramps that are over capacity, preparing for projected increases in traffic, adding shoulders and correcting below-minimum sight distances.
The segment of Loop 610 from I-10 to Hwy. 59 and the segment of Hwy. 59 from Loop 610 to Hwy. 288 were named the second and third most congested roadways in Texas, respectively, by the Texas Transportation Institute in its annual rankings.
The broader interchange project is slated to wrap up in 2024, according to TxDOT.
