HOUSTON – Beginning this Friday -- and for the next seven months -- the Texas Department of Transportation will close Spur 5 going northbound on the I-45 Gulf Freeway.
The closure is the first of three phases for the I-45 Northbound Direct Connector Project.
The project is designed to give two direct connections at the I-45 Gulf Freeway and I-69/US 59 interchange.
Spur 5 going northbound will be closing this Friday at 9 p.m. and will remain closed for the next seven months.
Vehicles traveling northbound on Spur 5 should detour to the Scott Street/Downtown exit and turn right to access the I-45 frontage road. Drivers can also take the St. Joseph/Pease St. exit.
The Texas Department of Transportation says that this $30.45 million project will improve connectivity and reduce traffic congestion along the corridor. The project will:
• Reconstruct the I-45 northbound to I-69/US 59/SH 288 southbound direct connector. The current connector is a left exit and will be converted to a right exit from I-45.
• Reconstruct the I-45 northbound to I-69/US 59 northbound direct connector. The current exit will be relocated further south.
• Construct a new Pease St. and St. Joseph Parkway exit ramp that will feed directly from I-45 northbound.
• Construct a new Cullen Blvd. entrance ramp from the I-45 northbound frontage road to the newly elevated i-69/US 59 north and southbound connector ramp which is currently Spur 5.
The project is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2019.