Loop 610, I-69 interchange work plan to close

With the weekend opening of the ramp from northbound Loop 610 to northbound I-69, which closed in March, all ramps between the two highways, as well as the reconstructed main lanes of Loop 610, are open to traffic. Although there are still a few weeks of work to be done, all major work on the project – and the major closures that accompanied it – are a thing of the past and one of the region’s largest construction sites will slow down.

Final closeout of the project, when the Texas Department of Transportation will consider the work complete, is expected in the fall, agency spokesman Danny Perez said. Work will continue on the shoulders and in certain places where the ramps join the main lanes of the highway. Work also continues below Loop 610 along Westpark Drive, where construction has removed sidewalks, as well as limited landscaping along the project.

For drivers, however, ramps and lanes are in place, aimed at making travel smoother across the interchange. All ramps between highways have been rebuilt and most have been expanded to two lanes to facilitate backups during peak periods. The only ramp that remains one lane in each direction is the one from southbound I-69 to northbound Loop 610, which was limited by TxDOT not wanting to acquire more residential properties and encroach on homes in the northeast corner of the interchange.

Before the work, the interchange was the worst in the state, based on highway segments. The crossing is where the state’s most congested highway segment, Loop 610 through Uptown, meets the fifth most congested, I-69, from the Loop to Texas 288. As a result, state officials have made its reconstruction a priority and one of the first. The projects began under the Texas Clear Lanes program months after voters approved billions of dollars in transportation spending.

Originally estimated at $258.7 million, the current cost of reconstruction is estimated at $272.1 million, based on TxDOT’s internal updates.