Freeway closings will complicate weekend travel

Two area freeway closings this weekend could sap drivers’ Christmas cheer, as work complicates trips on Loop 610 near the Galleria and between Baytown and La Porte.

Northbound Loop 610 will be closed at 9 p.m. Friday north of Interstate 69, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Motorists will be forced off the freeway at Westheimer then detoured along the frontage road to the next entrance ramp. The lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday or sooner if crews can complete the work, TxDOT spokesman Danny Perez said.

The closing is related to work at the Loop 610 and I-69 interchange. Next year, workers will replace the lanes where Loop 610 crosses I-69, and weeks of prep work will be needed for the upcoming traffic shift.

The closing could complicate trips to and from the busy shopping corridor in and around the Galleria along Post Oak and Westheimer. Most drivers, however, “are quite familiar with the reconstruction of the 610-69 interchange,” said Delia Mizwa, marketing and communications director for the Uptown Houston District.

East of Houston, a major maintenance project will close southbound lanes of the Fred Hartman Bridge, leading to a lengthy detour of Texas 146 in that direction from Baytown to La Porte. Crews will close that side of bridge — a towering cable-stay span across the Houston Ship Channel — at 9 p.m. Friday. The southbound lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.

During the closing, TxDOT is routing southbound motorists along Spur 330, then west on Interstate 10 to Loop 610 southbound. From Loop 610, drivers can take Texas 225 east to access Texas 146.