Construction isn’t expected to be completed until mid-2026. (Trong Nguyen/Shutterstock)
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Houston traffic is, frankly, only about to get worse with the news of what’s going down on I-10.
Starting Oct. 24, a major traffic switch will occur as the Texas Department of Transportation starts construction on the I-10 White Oak Bayou Elevation Project. Over by the I-10 westbound mainlanes, between I-45 North Freeway and Houston Avenue, traffic will be reduced to a mere two lanes. To add insult to injury, this won’t be a quick shutdown—construction isn’t expected to be completed until mid-2026.
“The purpose of the I-10 White Oak Bayou project is to reduce the risk of flooding of the I-10 mainlanes between Heights Blvd and I-45 and reduce occasions when the roadway would be impassable due to major rainfall events,” the TxDOT website states. “The project will raise the I-10 mainlanes out of the floodplain and also reconstruct the Houston Avenue bridge.”
Other major travel impacts, per TxDOT:
- Total closure of the I-45 Southbound Direct Connector to I-10 Westbound, including the HOV lane, estimated to re-open mid-2026.
- Total closure of the I-10 Eastbound Direct Connector to I-45 Northbound, estimated to last through project completion in mid-2028.
As to be expected, Houstonians are wary about what this construction will mean for their commute, and if it will be worth it in the end.
“If it’s anything like other road closures, I normally take 59 and 610 on my daily commute and if it’s anything like that, then it’ll be awful, as lanes close, traffic gets worse and worse,” local Houtonian Virag Pawa told ABC 13.
