Heads up, Houston drivers: The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has announced yet another shuffle in the schedule for the I-45 North Houston Highway Improvement Project. If you've been keeping your GPS updated with the latest closures and detours—keep your eyes peeled for what's next. The recent demolition plans for the Alabama St bridge over I-69, previously set for January 9-12, have been pushed back to February 6-9, 2026, according to Click2Houston.
In the coming days, for folks needing to merge onto I-69 northbound from McGowen Street, you're going to hit a roadblock. Closures are happening tomorrow, Jan. 8, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 9, from the same early hours, and then come Saturday, Jan. 10, it's an all-day affair from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., as reported by CW39.
Don't fret, though, driving alternatives have been mapped out for you. The detour route is straightforward: take a right on McGowen, a left on Emancipation, bake a left on Gray, make a right on Chartres, then a left on Commerce, and follow it with a right on Chenevert that will drop you onto I-69.
But wait, Chartres Street's full closure from Commerce Street to Runnels Street, which was originally slated to end on Jan. 15, will now keep the streetlights off until March 28, 2026. The extension, a necessity for the installation of storm sewer infrastructure, promises to be a test of patience and GPS accuracy for drivers, according to Click2Houston.
Yet, not all news is of the rerouting kind. St. Emanuel Street from Preston Street to Texas Avenue has shaken off its orange cones and has been reopened to traffic. However, the stretch from Texas Avenue to Rusk Street will remain a no-go zone through January 31, as crews get down to business on sanitary sewer installation.
