Interstate 610 (Texas)

Interstate 610
Route information
Maintained by TxDOT
Length:	38 mi (61 km)
Major junctions
Beltway around Houston
	I-10 US 90 US 59 I-45 US 290 SH 288 SH 225
Highway system
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business Highways in Texas Interstate • US • TX (Loops – Spurs – Rec – FM) ← I-410 I-635 →

Interstate 610 (abbreviated I-610) is a freeway that forms a forty-two-mile loop around the downtown sector of city of Houston, Texas. Interstate 610, colloquially known as "The Loop", "Loop 610", "The 610 Loop", or just "610", traditionally marks the border between the inner city of Houston ("inside the Loop") and its surrounding areas. It is the inner of the two Houston beltways, the other being Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tollway). Interstate 610 also runs through the city of Bellaire.

Route description

Major segments of Interstate 610 are known as the North Loop, the South Loop, the East Loop, and the West Loop. The North Loop runs from U.S. Highway 290 to U.S. Highway 90. The East Loop runs from Highway 90 to State Highway 225. The West Loop runs from Highway 290 to the South Post Oak Road spur, and the South Loop runs from South Post Oak Road to Highway 225. Sometimes, a direction is added as a suffix to denote a more specific part of a portion of the loop. For example:

• North Loop West Freeway refers to the portion of the North Loop between Highway 290 and Interstate 45. North Loop East refers to the portion between Interstate 45 and Highway 90.
• East Loop North Freeway refers to the portion of the East Loop between Highway 90 and Interstate 10. East Loop South refers to the portion between Interstate 10 and State Highway 225.
• South Loop East Freeway refers to the portion of the South Loop between State Highway 225 and State Highway 288. South Loop West refers to the portion between State Highway 288 and the South Post Oak Road spur.
• West Loop South Freeway refers to the portion of the West Loop between the South Post Oak Road spur and Buffalo Bayou (which is just south of Interstate 10). West Loop North refers to the portion between Buffalo Bayou and Highway 290.

Lane configurations

I-610 seen from Park Towers South (North Post Oak and IH-610) in Houston. View toward South and toward the interchange with US-59

I-610 "West Loop South" just South from IH-10 West

Starting at U.S. Highway 290, moving in a clockwise direction, mainlane counts are as follows:

• 4 lanes each way between U.S. Highway 290 and Interstate 45
• 6 lanes each way between Interstate 45 and U.S. Highway 59
• 4 lanes each way between U.S. Highway 59 and Interstate 10
• 5 lanes each way between Interstate 10 and State Highway 225
• 4 lanes each way between State Highway 225 and State Highway 288
• 5 lanes each way between State Highway 288 and South Post Oak Road spur
• 5 lanes northbound, 4 lanes southbound between South Post Oak Road spur and Bissonnet exit
• 5 lanes northbound, 5 lanes southbound between Bissonnet exit and Bellaire Boulevard exit
• 4 lanes northbound, 5 lanes southbound between Bellaire Boulevard exit and Woodway Drive
• 5 lanes each way Woodway Drive and Interstate 10
• 6 lanes each way between Interstate 10 and U.S. Highway 290

History

I-610 Eastbound at U.S. Highway 290 in Houston

I-610 "West Loop South" just South from IH-10 West. View toward North from Park Towers South

The concept of building a bypass highway around Houston was first proposed in 1931, but plans did not begin to formalize until 1941. The loop was initially proposed to transport troops and materials around the city. On May 3, Harris County voters approved a bond to build the "Defense Loop". It was officially designated as Loop 137 in 1942, and the North Loop was approved by the Texas Transportation Commission. World War II delayed construction of the Loop until the 1950s.

In July 1953, the city of Houston asked the Texas Transportation Commission to include 2 new sections of Loop 137 (the West Loop and the South Loop) as part of the state's highway system. It was initially rejected, but in October 1954, the North Loop was upgraded to a freeway, and the West and South Loops were approved as freeways.

When the Interstate Highway system was authorized in 1956, the then C-shaped Loop 137 (now designated Interstate 610) was adopted into the plan. The East Loop would not be approved until 1960. That segment was finished in 1973 with the opening of the Sidney Sherman Bridge over the Houston Ship Channel.

Construction on the North Loop began in 1950. Construction was sporadic throughout the 1950s and 1960s. It was completed in 1976 with the interchange that connects Loop 610 to Interstate 10 east of Houston.

In the early 1990s, TxDOT proposed a widening project for the West Loop, which at the time was the busiest freeway in Houston. One of the proposals was for a dual-dual freeway with a total of 24 lanes in some places, which would have made it the widest freeway in the world. Amid vocal opposition and little apparent support, the plans for expansion were cancelled.

In the late 1990s, the need to repave and reconstruct portions of the West Loop became evident. The reconstruction project was approved, but only as a "no-capacity-added" project; only safety and structural improvements could be made. However, some Houston residents have noted that merging lanes and exit ramps are particularly long and in effect, serve as additional lanes.

Exit list

The entire roadway, which forms a complete loop, is located in Harris County.

Location	#	Destinations	Notes
Houston	1A	FM 521 (Almeda Road)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	1B	Fannin Street
	1C	Kirby Drive
	2	US 90 Alt. (South Main Street) / Buffalo Speedway
	3	Stella Link Road
	4A	South Braeswood Boulevard, North Braeswood Boulevard
	4B	South Post Oak Road	W becomes N and S becomes E
	5A	Beechnut Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Bellaire	5B	Evergreen Street	Northbound exit is via exit 6
	6	Bellaire Boulevard
	7	Fournace Place, Bissonnet Street	Northbound exit is via exit 6
Houston	7	Westpark Drive	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	8A	US 59 (Southwest Freeway) – Victoria, Downtown Houston
	8B	Hidalgo Street, Richmond Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	8C	FM 1093 – Westheimer Road	The non-FM 1093 segment and the FM 1093 segment of Westheimer Road meet here
	9	San Felipe Road, Post Oak Boulevard	Signed as exits 9A (San Felipe Road) and 9B (Post Oak Boulevard) southbound
	10	Woodway Drive, Memorial Drive
	11A	I-10 (Katy Freeway) – San Antonio, Downtown Houston	Signed as exit 11 northbound
	11B	Katy Road, North Post Oak Road, Silber Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	12	West 18th Street, Hempstead Road	No northbound entrance
	13	US 290 (Northwest Freeway) – Austin	Signed as exits 13A (east) and 13B (west)
	13C	West T.C. Jester Boulevard, East T.C. Jester Boulevard	N becomes E and W becalmed S
	14	Ella Boulevard
	15	Spur 261 (North Shepherd Drive) / North Durham Drive
	16	North Main Street, Yale Street	Signed as exits 16A (Yale Street) and 16B (North Main Street) eastbound
	17A	Airline Drive	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	17	I-45 (North Freeway) – Dallas, IAH Airport, Downtown Houston	Signed as exits 17B (north) and 17C (south)
	18	Irvington Boulevard, Fulton Street
	19A	Hardy Street, Jensen Drive	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	19B	Hardy Toll Road north
	20	US 59 (Eastex Freeway) – Cleveland, Downtown Houston	Signed as exits 20A (south) and 20B (north) westbound
	20C	Hirsch Road	Eastbound exit is via exit 21
	21	Lockwood Drive
	22	Homestead Road, Kelley Street
	23A	Kirkpatrick Boulevard	E becomes S and N becomes W
	23B	North Wayside Drive, Liberty Road
	24	US 90 east (McCarty Drive, US 90 Bus. east, US 90 Alt. west) / Wallisville Road	North end of US 90 overlap, signed as exits 24A (US 90) and 24B (Wallisville Road) northbound
	25	Gellhorn Drive	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	26A	I-10 (Baytown East Freeway, US 90 west) – Beaumont, Downtown Houston	South end of US 90 overlap
	26B	Market Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	27	Turning Basin Drive	No northbound exit
	28	Clinton Drive
	29	Port of Houston Main Entrance	S becomes W and E becomes N
	30A	Manchester Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	30	SH 225 (La Porte Freeway) – Pasadena, La Porte	Signed as exits 30B (east) and 30C (west)
	30D	Lawndale Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	31	Broadway Boulevard
	32	I-45 (Gulf Freeway) / SH 35 south – Galveston, Hobby Airport, Alvin, Downtown Houston	Signed as exits 32A (I-45 south) and 32B (I-45 north, SH 35 south)
	33	Woodridge Drive, Telephone Road
	34A	South Wayside Drive, Long Drive
	35	Crestmont Street, M.L. King Boulevard, Mykawa Road
	36A	Calais Road, Holmes Road, M.L. King Boulevard
	36B	FM 865 (Cullen Boulevard)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	37	Scott Street
	38	SH 288 (South Freeway) – Lake Jackson, Freeport, Downtown Houston, IAH Airport	Signed as exits 38A (south) and 38B (north) eastbound

See also

• I-610 Ship Channel Bridge

External links

• 3-Digit Interstates profile for I-610