Major lane closures at the Hwy. 6 and Hwy. 290 intersection will go into effect Sept. 6, according to the Texas Department of Transportation as officials prepare to demolish the Hwy. 6 bridge over Hempstead Road and Union Pacific Corp. railroad tracks. The following closures are set to go into effect 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6 according to TxDOT:
  • All Hwy. 6 northbound lanes between Hempstead Road and Hwy. 290
  • Eastbound Hempstead Road lanes connecting to Hwy. 6 northbound
  • Hwy. 6 northbound lanes connecting to Hempstead Road westbound
  • The Hwy. 290 eastbound exit to North Eldridge Parkway/West Road
  • The Hwy. 290 eastbound frontage road at the entrance ramp from Hwy. 6
The bridge demolition itself will not begin until the weekend of Sept. 20, at which point Hwy. 6 southbound lanes between Hwy. 290 and Hempstead Road will have one lane open during the day and be totally closed overnight. Aside from the exit ramp to North Eldridge Parkway, no Hwy. 290 main lane closures are included as a part of the bridge demolition. The bridge demolition is part of a larger project that will ultimately involve building a new flyover bridge connecting Hwy. 6 to FM 1960 over Hwy. 290. The project was originally set to be completed by the end of 2019, but faced some delays earlier this year due to utility relocations. Closures will be in effect for the long-term, spanning the demolition of the existing bridge and the construction of the new bridge, according to documents on the Hwy. 290 project website. The new Hwy. 6/FM 1960 bridge is anticipated to be complete by late 2020. The Hwy. 6 northbound direct connector to Hwy. 290 eastbound will remain open during the demolition and construction process. TxDOT officials have recommended the following detours:
  • Hwy. 6 northbound drivers: Starting north of Copper Grove Boulevard, drivers can use the left lane to exit to Hwy. 290 eastbound. The two right lanes continue to Hempstead Road, where drivers can turn right after crossing the railroad tracks, continue on the Hwy. 290 eastbound frontage road to North Eldridge Parkway, U-turn and take the Hwy. 290 westbound frontage road back to FM 1960.
  • Hempstead Road eastbound to Hwy. 6 northbound: Drivers should head west on Hempstead Road to Huffmeister Road, take a right onto Huffmeister and then a right onto the Hwy. 290 eastbound frontage road back to FM 1960.
  • Hwy. 290 eastbound exit to North Eldridge Parkway/West Road: Drivers should continue eastbound to the Jones Road exit and U-turn back to West Road
  • Hwy. 290 eastbound frontage road east of Hwy. 6 entrance ramp: The frontage road will be totally closed. All drivers must enter the Hwy. 290 main lanes using the entrance ramp.
More information on the closures and detours can be found here.