Houston Freeways

Houston Historic Documents

Abandoned & Realigned Roads– Fascinating photos of Houston roads.
Historic photos– Fascinating photos of Houston roads.
Historic freeway planning maps– A history of the development of Houston’s freeway system from 1942 to the 1980’s
Old Road Maps– Old road maps from 1952, 1955, 1958, 1961, 1962, and 1965.
Newsletter Excerpts from the 70’s and 80’s– Find lots of interesting Houston historic information here.
Houston Electric Railways– (Separate from TexasFreeway.com)See how Houstonians got around before freeways.

Houston Freeways Photo Gallery

Fort Bend Parkway Tollway groundbreaking
Beltway 8 Stacks, mainlanes, and fault crossing– Possibly the world’s best collection of modern 5-level stacks
Downtown Houston Page 1, Page 2, and Page 3– Downtown Houston freeways provide impressive skyline views.
Hardy Toll Road– The 21 mile tollway will be extended into downtown soon.
US59 Southwest Freeway– At 371,000 vehicles per day, possibly the busiest freeway in the United States.
US59 North Eastex Freeway– The 1990’s expansion and reconstruction has provided a magnificent freeway.
I-610 West Loop– A 1992 plan proposed what might have been the world’s biggest freeway.
I-610 Loop, excluding the West Loop – Includes views of the Ship Channel Bridge.
IH-45, the North Freeway– expansion is in progress at the Woodlands.
IH-45, the Gulf Freeway– Houston’s first freeway.
Interstate 45 Galveston– Views of the freeway and the causeway.
IH-10, the Katy Freeway– Houston’s largest freeway expansion will occur on the Katy Freeway.
IH-10 west right-of-way clearance– See views of right-of-way to be cleared.
IH-10, the East Freeway– Houston’s least congested freeway
TX146 bridge– Cable stayed bridges are a dime a dozen these days, but this one is a standout.
TX 225– Completed in 2000, the 225 Laporte Freeway provides excellent industrial views.
288 South Freeway– The South Freeway is distinguished by its wide right-of-way and grassy median.
US 90 Crosby Freeway– This freeway is similar to the South Freeway with its wide right-of-way and wide grassy median.
90-A (South Main)– Houston’s first mini-freeway was completed in early 2002.
249 Tomball Parkway– See the just completed frontage roads, and the plans for direct connectors.
Views around Houston– Some views around Houston.
Freeport/Brazosport Region – See the interesting Quintana Swing Bridgeand views around the Brazosport Area.
New Urbanism in Houston– See Parkside, and award-winning community that is really nothing more than cheap housing.
June 2001 Flood Event– Tropical Storm Allison turned Houston freeways into lakes.

Houston Construction

Scenes from selected construction zones (coverage is non-comprehensive)

Westpark Tollway– Major construction was finally underway in January 2002.
US59/IH-10 interchange– see progress on the huge new interchange.
US59 Museum District– Long-span arched bridges have been added to the trench.
Beltway 8/US 59– Beltway 8 main lanes and a direct connector are underway.
Beltway 8/IH-45 Stack– This project will complete the stack.
Beltway 8/Hardy Toll Road Connector– This project will add one direct connector.

Houston Directory

• Beltway 8
• IH10 Elevated HOV-July, 2002
• US59
• Westpark Tollway
• Freeway Planning Maps
• H-GRTS* Newsletters 1970´s-1980´s
• Photos
• Road Maps
• Cancelled Projects
• HCTRA Pooled Projects
• Future US90, Crosby Freeway
• FM249 Freeway to Navasota
• Hardy Toll Road Extension
• TX35/Spur 5
• Grand Parkway, Houston´s 3rd Loop
• Newsflash

Please visit HoustonFreeways.com for more information.

Houston Information

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Area is among the most diverse metropolitan area in the United States and consists of ten counties within the state of Texas.

Its former title was Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown. The area is colloquially referred to as either the “Houston metropolitan area” or the “greater Houston area” and is situated in the region of East Texas.

The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolital statistical area (MSA) has a population of 7.14 million as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. The metropolitan area is comprised of ten counties, centering in Houston. Houston was named a “Gamma World City” by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC). Houston is the largest city within the state of Texas, fourth in the United States, and the second-largest economic area of the Gulf Coast region. The city is the county seat of Harris County, the third most populous county in the country. A portion of southwest Houston extends into Fort Bend County and a small portion in the northeast extends into Montgomery County.

Founded in 1836 by John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapman Allen, Houston is one of the fastest growing major cities in the United States and the largest without zoning laws. In 1900, Houston’s population was about 45,000, making it the 85th largest city in the United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 1.9 million. Houston is the main cultural and economic center of the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metropolitan Area, which is the seventh largest metropolitan area in the United States with a population of about 7.14 million in ten counties.

Houston is world renowned for its energy, particularly oil, and aerospace industries and for the Houston Ship Channel. The Port of Houston is one of the busiest ports in the United States and second in the world in foreign tonnage. Second only to New York City in Fortune 500 headquarters, Houston is home to the Texas Medical Center – the world’s largest and most important concentration of research and healthcare institutions. Houston has much to offer, including the lowest cost of living and the least-expensive housing among 27 major U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of more than 1.7 million.

Houston was named a “Gamma World City” (Gloabal City) by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC). Officially, Houston has been nicknamed the Space City as it is home to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, home of the Mission Control Center (referred to by space missions as simply “Houston”). The city offers a wide range of business, entertainment and cultural opportunities, including a respected and thriving theater district. Less than an hour from the Gulf of Mexico, Houston is close to sunny beaches, one of the United States’ largest concentrations of pleasure boats and tourist attractions such as the Kemah Boardwalk and Galveston Island.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.