New ramps on Houston's Loop 610 to finally reopen near NRG Park

Houston drivers near NRG Park can expect improved traffic flow when new Loop 610 connection ramps open in mid-October.

According to a report by Dug Begley of the Houston Chronicle , officials from the Texas Department of Transportation have announced the opening of the long elevated ramp connecting drivers on eastbound Loop 610 to Texas 288 in both directions on Oct. 18. Additionally, TxDOT will open additional lanes on the ramp from Texas 288 to westbound Loop 610.

"There is quite a bit of stuff opening," according to James Callenius, a senior construction manager for SAM-Construction Services, a consultant on the project for TxDOT, per Begley. "When we can get all that in place, all that work will go away and people will be at normal speeds."

These new roadways will open two new lanes, linking major thoroughfares. The $125.5 million project will reach its final major milestone and restore eastbound connections that drivers lost earlier this year.

Other closed ramps, including Almeda/Fannin, will also reopen. Construction barriers in the main lanes of Loop 610 will be reduced, allowing full use of the freeway again. Local streets, though, will still remain closed, with construction ongoing in Cambridge Street, building sidewalks and lighting along the area.

The project to improve traffic flow near Loop 610 and Cambridge began in 2018, causing traffic and backups on frontage roads and exits.

The area is one of six projects in Houston which are part of Texas Clear Lanes, a state program targeting bottlenecks along major cities. Other concurrent projects include widening Interstate 45 through League City and Dickinson towards Galveston.

A separate Clean Lanes project of the interchange of Loop 610 and Interstate 69 is almost finished, and all lanes were opened earlier this year.