Interstate 610 (Texas)

Interstate 610
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	38 mi[1] (61 km)
Major junctions
Beltway around Houston
	I-10 US 90 I-69 / US 59 I-45 US 290 SH 288 SH 225
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Highways in Texas Interstate US State Loops Spurs Rec FM Toll ← I-410 I-635 →

Interstate 610 (abbreviated I-610) is a freeway that forms a 38-mile-long (61 km) loop around the downtown sector of city of Houston, Texas. Interstate 610, colloquially known as The Loop, Loop 610, The 610 Loop, or just 610, traditionally marks the border between the inner city of Houston ("inside the Loop") and its surrounding areas. It is the inner of the two Houston beltways, the other being Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tollway). Interstate 610 also runs through the city of Bellaire.

Route description

Major segments of Interstate 610 are known as the North Loop, the South Loop, the East Loop, and the West Loop. The North Loop runs from U.S. Highway 290 to U.S. Highway 90. The East Loop runs from Highway 90 to State Highway 225. The West Loop runs from Highway 290 to the South Post Oak Road spur, and the South Loop runs from South Post Oak Road to Highway 225. Sometimes, a direction name is added as a suffix to denote a more specific part of a portion of the loop and this does not denote the direction of traffic flow.^[2] For example:

• North Loop West Freeway^[3] refers to the portion of the North Loop between Highway 290 and Interstate 45. North Loop East^[4] refers to the portion between Interstate 45 and Highway 90.
• East Loop North Freeway^[5] refers to the portion of the East Loop between Highway 90 and Interstate 10. East Loop South refers to the portion between Interstate 10 and State Highway 225.
• South Loop East Freeway^[6] refers to the portion of the South Loop between State Highway 225 and State Highway 288. South Loop West^[7] refers to the portion between State Highway 288 and the South Post Oak Road spur.
• West Loop South Freeway^[8] refers to the portion of the West Loop between the South Post Oak Road spur and Buffalo Bayou (which is just south of Interstate 10). West Loop North^[9] refers to the portion between Buffalo Bayou and Highway 290.

Lane configurations

I-610 seen from Park Towers South (North Post Oak and I-610) in Houston; view toward south and toward the interchange with I-69/US 59

I-610 "West Loop South" just south from I-10 west

Starting at U.S. Highway 290, moving in a clockwise direction, mainlane counts are as follows:^[10]

• 4 lanes each way between U.S. Highway 290 and Interstate 45
• 6 lanes each way between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59
• 4 lanes each way between Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 and Interstate 10
• 5 lanes each way between Interstate 10 and State Highway 225
• 4 lanes each way between State Highway 225 and State Highway 288
• 5 lanes each way between State Highway 288 and South Post Oak Road spur
• 5 lanes northbound, 4 lanes southbound between South Post Oak Road spur and Bissonnet exit
• 5 lanes northbound, 5 lanes southbound between Bissonnet exit and Bellaire Boulevard exit
• 4 lanes northbound, 5 lanes southbound between Bellaire Boulevard exit and Woodway Drive
• 5 lanes each way Woodway Drive and Interstate 10
• 6 lanes each way between Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 290

History

I-610 eastbound at US 290 in Houston

I-610 "West Loop South" just south from I-10 west. View toward North from Park Towers South

The concept of building a bypass highway around Houston was first proposed in 1931, but plans did not begin to formalize until 1941. The loop was initially proposed to transport troops and materials around the city. On May 3, Harris County voters approved a bond to build the "Defense Loop". It was officially designated as Loop 137 in 1942, and the North Loop was approved by the Texas Transportation Commission. World War II delayed construction of the Loop until the 1950s.

In July 1953, the city of Houston asked the Texas Transportation Commission to include 2 new sections of Loop 137 (the West Loop and the South Loop) as part of the state's highway system. It was initially rejected, but in October 1954, the North Loop was upgraded to a freeway, and the West and South Loops were approved as freeways.

When the Interstate Highway system was authorized in 1956, the then C-shaped Loop 137 (now designated Interstate 610) was adopted into the plan. The East Loop would not be approved until 1960. That segment was finished in 1973 with the opening of the Sidney Sherman Bridge over the Houston Ship Channel.

Construction on the North Loop began in 1950. Construction was sporadic throughout the 1950s and 1960s. It was completed in 1976 with the interchange that connects Loop 610 to Interstate 10 east of Houston.

In the early 1990s, TxDOT proposed a widening project for the West Loop, which at the time was the busiest freeway in Houston. One of the proposals was for a dual-dual freeway with a total of 24 lanes in some places, which would have made it the widest freeway in the world. Amid vocal opposition and little apparent support, the plans for expansion were cancelled.^[11]

In the late 1990s, the need to repave and reconstruct portions of the West Loop became evident. The reconstruction project was approved, but only as a "no-capacity-added" project; only safety and structural improvements could be made.^[11][12] However, some Houston residents have noted that merging lanes and exit ramps are particularly long and in effect, serve as additional lanes.^[13]

Exit list

The entire highway is in Harris County.

Location	Mile	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Houston			1A	FM 521 (Almeda Road)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			1B	Fannin Street
			1C	Kirby Drive
			2	US 90 Alt. (South Main Street) / Buffalo Speedway
			3	Stella Link Road
			4A	South Braeswood Boulevard, North Braeswood Boulevard
			4B	South Post Oak Road, West Bellfort Avenue	Signed direction switches between east–west and north–south
			5A	Beechnut Street	Northbound exit is via exit 4A
Bellaire			5B	Evergreen Street	Southbound exit is via exit 6
			6	Bellaire Boulevard
			7	Fournace Place, Bissonnet Street	Northbound exit is via exit 6
Houston			7	Westpark Drive	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			8A	I-69 south / US 59 (Southwest Freeway) – Victoria, Downtown Houston	Southwest Freeway north is future I-69
			8B	Hidalgo Street, Richmond Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			8C	FM 1093 – Westheimer Road
			9	San Felipe Road, Post Oak Boulevard	Signed as exits 9A (San Felipe Road) and 9B (Post Oak Boulevard) southbound
			10	Woodway Drive, Memorial Drive	Signed as exit 10A southbound
			11A	I-10 (Katy Freeway) – San Antonio, Downtown Houston	Signed as exit 11 northbound
			11B	Katy Road, North Post Oak Road, Silber Road	No southbound exit
			12	West 18th Street, Hempstead Road	No northbound entrance
			13	US 290 (Northwest Freeway) – Austin	Signed as exits 13A (east) and 13B (west)
			13C	West T.C. Jester Boulevard, East T.C. Jester Boulevard	Signed direction switches between north–south and east–west
			14	Ella Boulevard
			15	Spur 261 (North Shepherd Drive) / North Durham Drive
			16	North Main Street, Yale Street	Signed as exits 16A (Yale Street) and 16B (North Main Street) eastbound
			17A	Airline Drive	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			17	I-45 (North Freeway) – Dallas, IAH Airport, Downtown Houston	Signed as exits 17B (north) and 17C (south)
			18	Irvington Boulevard, Fulton Street
			19A	Hardy Street, Jensen Drive	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			19B	Hardy Toll Road north
			20	I-69 north / US 59 (Eastex Freeway) – Cleveland, Downtown Houston	Signed as exits 20A (south) and 20B (north) westbound, Eastex Freeway south is future I-69
			20C	Hirsch Road	Eastbound exit is via exit 21
			21	Lockwood Drive
			22	Homestead Road, Kelley Street
			23A	Kirkpatrick Boulevard	Signed direction switches between east–west and north–south
			23B	North Wayside Drive, Liberty Road
			24	US 90 east (McCarty Drive, BUS US 90 east, ALT US 90 west) / Wallisville Road	North end of US 90 overlap, signed as exits 24A (US 90) and 24B (Wallisville Road) northbound
			25	Gellhorn Drive	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			26A	I-10 (Baytown East Freeway, US 90 west) – Beaumont, Downtown Houston	South end of US 90 overlap
			26B	Market Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			27	Turning Basin Drive	No northbound exit
			28	Clinton Drive
			29	Port of Houston Main Entrance	Signed direction switches between north–south and east–west
			30A	Manchester Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			30	SH 225 (La Porte Freeway) – Pasadena, La Porte	Signed as exits 30B (east) and 30C (west)
			30D	Lawndale Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			31	Broadway Boulevard
			32	I-45 (Gulf Freeway) / SH 35 south – Galveston, Hobby Airport, Alvin, Downtown Houston	Signed as exits 32A (I-45 south) and 32B (I-45 north, SH 35 south)
			33	Woodridge Drive, Telephone Road
			34A	South Wayside Drive, Long Drive
			35	Crestmont Street, M.L. King Boulevard, Mykawa Road
			36A	Calais Road, Holmes Road, M.L. King Boulevard
			36B	FM 865 (Cullen Boulevard)	Westbound exit is via exit 36A
			37	Scott Street
			38	SH 288 (South Freeway) – Lake Jackson, Freeport, Downtown Houston, IAH Airport	Signed as exits 38A (south) and 38B (north) eastbound
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

See also

• I-610 Ship Channel Bridge

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 610 (Texas) (category)

• 3-Digit Interstates profile for I-610

v t e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 10 California 110 1101 210 710 Arizona 4103 5101 7103 Texas 110 410 610 Louisiana 110 210 310 3103 4103 4103 510 610 9104 Mississippi 110 3102 Alabama 2101 Florida 110 1Former 2Proposed 3Unbuilt 4Unsigned