Holiday weekend construction closes major Houston freeway routes
Westbound I-610 shut near Hobby, while downtown bridge work, ferry repairs and US-290 lane closures squeezed holiday traffic across Harris County.
Houston drivers headed into Memorial Day weekend faced a tight squeeze near Hobby Airport as Texas Department of Transportation crews shut westbound I-610 South Loop mainlanes from Broadway to the Gulf Freeway from May 29 at 9 p.m. until June 1 at 5 a.m. The closure also took out the northbound ramp to I-45 and forced traffic onto the southbound ramp, turning a key airport corridor into a detour zone.
Downtown Houston lost another major connection as work on the Alabama Street bridge, part of the larger I-45 makeover, closed all northbound lanes of Highway 59 between US-288 and the bridge that links Midtown and Third Ward. TxDOT said the bridge will be demolished and reconstructed, with reopening expected Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2027. The southbound exit ramp from SH-288 to the Southwest Freeway was also closed daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, keeping traffic on the main lanes instead of the ramp.
The Harris County Toll Road Authority added another disruption across the Houston Ship Channel. The Lynchburg Ferry closed May 30 and May 31 for repairs on the South Landing, with regular service set to resume Monday, June 2. The free crossing usually takes five to 10 minutes depending on wind, currents and traffic, and its posted hours are 4:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekends.
West Houston also saw construction drag on US-290, where one outside lane was closed daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and two inside lanes were closed nightly from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through June 5. That added another slowdown for drivers moving between the West Loop and the northwest side.
The timing could hardly have been worse. Houston Airports expected 1.3 million passengers through George Bush Intercontinental and Hobby over the holiday weekend, while AAA projected 45 million Americans would travel at least 50 miles from home for Memorial Day. With freeway closures, a ferry shutdown and airport traffic all hitting at once, the city’s message was clear: leave early, and expect the usual routes to be slower than normal.
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