Why Are There So Few Actually 'I' Interstate Expressways in Metro Houston?

[Perfxion]

First, Texas doesn't generally have ANY state highway mainlanes that are tolled.

SH 130
SH 45, except for the Circle C portion
SH 99
SH 121

to name a few

All of 121 is technically the frontage (service / feeder) roads except for the free parts. The Tolled freeway lanes are technically Sam Rayburn Tollway. It is possible the TXDOT operated ones around Austin and Houston do not follow those rules, but in North Texas it is that way.

Beltway 8/Sam Houston Tollway  in Houston follows the same protocol: Beltway 8 signed on the frontage roads; SHT  signed on the tolled mainlanes. Only exception is the free section between I-610 and US 90 on the eastern side, including the James Jones Bridge.

And between I-45 and US-59 by Bush Airport.

[dfwmapper]

Don't toll road segments have special designations?

They have a different shield but they're still the same old TX Highway. Same thing applies to TX Loop highways.

VS or

The blue and white shields are state highways, mostly built by TxDOT (segments 5 and 6 of SH 130 were not built by TxDOT but are still owned by the state and are part of the state highway, despite being operated and maintained by a private concessionaire). The yellow and blue shields are CTRMA roads and aren't state highways.

[bwana39]

Why Are There So Few Actually 'I' Interstate Expressways in TEXAS?  is the real qurstion.


Until the recent I-69 and I-14 the last new "i" interstate was extending I-44 to Wichita Falls in the early eighties. Before that it was 1-27 in the late sixties (completed about 1990).

The bottom line is mostly it boils down to how Texas spends its highway money. Until this most recent bout of love with the interstate, It made sense to have 4 lane divided highways in rural areas and to have controlled access in urban ones. 

Even in controlled access areas, Little things like frequency of exits, lengths and angles of exits and entrances, maximum angles on curves...  The list goes on and on are more restrictive (and expensive to meet) on Interstates. If the same money can build either?

[achilles765]

Here is the system I've kinda envisioned for Houston:

Spur 330 on the east side in Baytown becomes I-710
SH 288 becomes IH 145
SH 225 and SH 146 stay the same –state highways
SH 249 becomes I-345 since they're removing 345 in Dallas; otherwise make it 545
Beltway 8 becomes IH 645
Grand parkway becomes IH 669
Spur 527 becomes IH 569
US 290 becomes either IH 12 or a corrected IH 14.
US 90 becomes IH 510

[TXtoNJ]

You have:
    -10, 45, 69 (which is confusing), and 610....thats it!

All the rest are not part of the interstate system:
    -8, 90, 99, 288, 249, 290, and then Hardy/Westpark Toll

Why is it there is just a single interstate spur?
My only guess, Houston was a late booming metro region, by which point all Fed funds were gone?

Well, eventhough Houston was still of decent size back when Interstate system was being built out, the surrounding areas weren't densely populated (compared to say a Chicago, Philadelphia or a Detroit), so it wasn't necessary to have many "spoke"  interstates leading into or around Houston.

To add to this, Houston is relatively geographically isolated from the rest of the country (owing to it's southern location). Before NAFTA, there really wasn't much of a reason to have a diagonal interstate that would more easily reach the Northeast and/or Midwest. (oil/gas being transported in pipelines/trains, and all other freight imports by rail).

[SkyPesos]

Beltway 8 becomes IH 645
Grand parkway becomes IH 669

Liked how you continued the first digit from 610 onto the other beltways interstate number. I'm a fan of numbering patterns, like 101, 202 and 303 in Phoenix.

[CoreySamson]

I don't see any reason to change things from how they already are. I've fantasized about renumbering every freeway in the Houston area in the past, but for what? So roadgeeks can be happy? It would literally make almost zero difference whether they are resigned or not. There's not even really a legitimate reason to renumber Beltway 8 and 99 (the most likely candidates for renumbering) to Interstates because it's faster to use the freeways through downtown or 610 for long-distance travels. 8 and 99 (actually, most the state highways in Houston) are mostly for locals getting around.

[Roadgeekteen]

I don't think Houston was as big in the 50s.

[SkyPesos]

I don't think Houston was as big in the 50s.

According to this 1950 census pdf on page 11, Houston's metro area was about the same size as Kansas City. Houston was definitely large enough that I-45 was planned in its current location just to give Houston an x5, instead of saving the number for a longer corridor like I-49. But even comparing to Kansas City, the latter still got more interstates. Kansas City has 3 2di, compared to 2 in Houston back then. Kansas City's beltway (I-435) is more than double the length of Houston's I-610. Kansas City also had I-635 and I-470 in its 1950s plans, and Houston also started planning Beltway 8 in the 1950s, but I don't know why that wasn't an interstate in a time when the federal government was throwing money at interstate construction like it grows on trees.

[rte66man]

I don't think Houston was as big in the 50s.

According to this 1950 census pdf on page 11, Houston's metro area was about the same size as Kansas City. Houston was definitely large enough that I-45 was planned in its current location just to give Houston an x5, instead of saving the number for a longer corridor like I-49. But even comparing to Kansas City, the latter still got more interstates. Kansas City has 3 2di, compared to 2 in Houston back then. Kansas City's beltway (I-435) is more than double the length of Houston's I-610. Kansas City also had I-635 and I-470 in its 1950s plans, and Houston also started planning Beltway 8 in the 1950s, but I don't know why that wasn't an interstate in a time when the federal government was throwing money at interstate construction like it grows on trees.

I lived in Houston in the 60's and remember the 1960 population was about 935,000. I know that didn't count all the suburbs but I'd bet KC was bigger.  We lived in Sharpstown and you could reach the country by going west on Bellaire past Gessner. The Southwest Freeway wasn't finished past Gessner(IIRC) and the frontage roads ended at US90.  They finished Beltway 8 between 45 and 59 in time for the Intercontinental Airport to open. Had to take my father there for a flight and it seemed so far out in the boonies.

NO ONE could have forecast the explosive growth that Houston has experienced. Combine that with the already mentioned matter of location and you get the reason why Houston only got two 2 digit interstates.

[GaryV]

KC is in a location where N/S and E/W routes cross - like in Denver, Salt Lake and Albuquerque, to name a few others.  In addition, KC has I-29 which starts there, kind of like a "spur".

Houston/Galveston being at the bottom of the country, only has an E/W route going through it.  I-45 is a spur-like route similar to I-29 in KC.  But there's no where for a long-distance N/S route that can compare to I-35 in KC.

Look at other cities around the "edges" of the country.  They have a major "thru" route, and another spur (in a few cases 2 spurs) that starts there or nearby.  Seattle, Portland, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Washington. 

[sprjus4]

But there's no where for a long-distance N/S route that can compare to I-35 in KC.

Not until I-69 is completed anyways, though that's modern day / future.

Look at other cities around the "edges" of the country.  They have a major "thru" route, and another spur (in a few cases 2 spurs) that starts there or nearby.  Seattle, Portland, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Washington.

Then you have cities such as Wilmington (NC), Charleston, Hampton Roads, etc. that only have one east-west spur connecting it (I-40, I-26, I-64), and is bypassed by the major north-south route (I-95).

[SkyPesos]

Look at other cities around the "edges" of the country.  They have a major "thru" route, and another spur (in a few cases 2 spurs) that starts there or nearby.  Seattle, Portland, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Washington.

I was trying so hard to think of an exception, but there isn't really any
NYC: 95 (through route), 78, 80 (spurs).
Baltimore: 95 (through route), 70N, 83 (spurs). 97 is in the "wannabe 2di that should really be a 70N or 83 extension" league.
DC: 95 (through route), 66, 70S (spurs). 70S could be an E-W through route if it got extended along the northern loop of I-495 to US 50 towards Annapolis and possibly Dover, but that's fictional territory.
LA: 5 (through route), 10 (spur)

And then there's the Bay Area without an N-S interstate at all, and only an E-W spur of I-80.

The only N-S non-spur I can think of for Houston is US 59, but that's modern day.

[bwana39]

I don't think Houston was as big in the 50s.

Houston also started planning Beltway 8 in the 1950s, but I don't know why that wasn't an interstate in a time when the federal government was throwing money at interstate construction like it grows on trees.

There are several issues here. First, Texas and California both got lots of MILES of Interstate highway. That did not translate into lots of separate Interstate Highways.  California has added lots of Loop and Spur interstates, ESPECIALLY in the San Francisco area. Texas has not done that. Texas got about as much interstate as the funding was available for. After the dedicated interstate funding tapered off, Texas focused on building 4-lane divided highways in the rural areas and built additional freeways and used the existing numbers or state highway numbers.

The only reason I-69 goes through Houston is the clout a top-5 city has versus a cross-country interstate. between Victoria and Teneha more or less.

Why did Dallas / Ft.Worth get an outsized piece of the pie versus Houston? While most of us, previous to the late 1970's, thought of Dallas and Ft. Worth as two separate entities the regional planning was probably more cooperative then, than today.  While Dallas itself was less populous than Houston, even then, DFW had a population edge. This, however, is not where the power lay any way. Sam Rayburn was the speaker through MOST of the fifties. His influence as a North Texas native and resident was far more important for Texas.

[bwana39]

Look at other cities around the "edges" of the country.  They have a major "thru" route, and another spur (in a few cases 2 spurs) that starts there or nearby.  Seattle, Portland, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Washington.

I was trying so hard to think of an exception, but there isn't really any
NYC: 95 (through route), 78, 80 (spurs).
Baltimore: 95 (through route), 70N, 83 (spurs). 97 is in the "wannabe 2di that should really be a 70N or 83 extension" league.
DC: 95 (through route), 66, 70S (spurs). 70S could be an E-W through route if it got extended along the northern loop of I-495 to US 50 towards Annapolis and possibly Dover, but that's fictional territory.
LA: 5 (through route), 10 (spur)

And then there's the Bay Area without an N-S interstate at all, and only an E-W spur of I-80.

The only N-S non-spur I can think of for Houston is US 59, but that's modern day.

OK, your concept of spurs is a little disorienting. By spurs, you mean something that goes in a ray from a given point as opposed to a line (or more technically line segment) going through a given city.  I miss how I-45 misses your definition of a through N-S non-spur.

[SkyPesos]

Look at other cities around the "edges" of the country.  They have a major "thru" route, and another spur (in a few cases 2 spurs) that starts there or nearby.  Seattle, Portland, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Washington.

I was trying so hard to think of an exception, but there isn't really any
NYC: 95 (through route), 78, 80 (spurs).
Baltimore: 95 (through route), 70N, 83 (spurs). 97 is in the "wannabe 2di that should really be a 70N or 83 extension" league.
DC: 95 (through route), 66, 70S (spurs). 70S could be an E-W through route if it got extended along the northern loop of I-495 to US 50 towards Annapolis and possibly Dover, but that's fictional territory.
LA: 5 (through route), 10 (spur)

And then there's the Bay Area without an N-S interstate at all, and only an E-W spur of I-80.

The only N-S non-spur I can think of for Houston is US 59, but that's modern day.

OK, your concept of spurs is a little disorienting. By spurs, you mean something that goes in a ray from a given point as opposed to a line (or more technically line segment) going through a given city.  I miss how I-45 misses your definition of a through N-S non-spur.

The post I quoted said nearby as well. I-45 terminates in Galveston, which is part of the Houston metro area. The only direction it goes outside the metro area is north, since south of the metro area is the Gulf of Mexico.

[TheStranger]

And then there's the Bay Area without an N-S interstate at all, and only an E-W spur of I-80.

I-580 (the east west spur of 80 you are referring to) was originally proposed and signed as I-5W, part of a west branch of I-5 along I-505/I-80/I-580 from Dunnigan to Vernalis via Vacaville, Vallejo, and Oakland.  To be fair, only a short portion of the MacArthur Freeway near downtown Oakland did get the I-5W signage (concurrent with US 50).

So it was intended as part of one north-south route at one point.

US 101 itself between Boyle Heights and Novato was submitted for possible inclusion into the Interstate system at one point in the 50s or 60s but was not taken in.

[GaryV]

Look at other cities around the "edges" of the country.  They have a major "thru" route, and another spur (in a few cases 2 spurs) that starts there or nearby.  Seattle, Portland, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Washington.

I was trying so hard to think of an exception, but there isn't really any
NYC: 95 (through route), 78, 80 (spurs).
Baltimore: 95 (through route), 70N, 83 (spurs). 97 is in the "wannabe 2di that should really be a 70N or 83 extension" league.
DC: 95 (through route), 66, 70S (spurs). 70S could be an E-W through route if it got extended along the northern loop of I-495 to US 50 towards Annapolis and possibly Dover, but that's fictional territory.
LA: 5 (through route), 10 (spur)

And then there's the Bay Area without an N-S interstate at all, and only an E-W spur of I-80.

The only N-S non-spur I can think of for Houston is US 59, but that's modern day.

OK, your concept of spurs is a little disorienting. By spurs, you mean something that goes in a ray from a given point as opposed to a line (or more technically line segment) going through a given city.  I miss how I-45 misses your definition of a through N-S non-spur.

Correct, I couldn't think of a better word for it.  I realize spur usually refers to an odd-first-digit 3di.  In this case I was using it as noted here, a ray emanating in one direction from a metro area (or very near to a metro area).

DFW was brought up as an example.  DFW and OKC are communities at cross-roads similar to KC, with a n/s and e/w thru routes, and a ray-spur 2di route as well.  (We often talk about how I-30 isn't a "real" or "worthy" 2di ending in 0.  Same as we talk about I-45 not being "real" or "worthy".)

Regarding some cities on the east coast like Norfolk and Charleston, they don't have a n/s "thru" route because of their locations, too far east due to the bend in the coastline.  It made sense for I-95 to be inland as a more direct route nationally.  The same thing happened with the US highways - US 1 is inland, and those areas had to make do with US 13 and US 17.

[motorola870]

Don't toll road segments have special designations?

They have a different shield but they're still the same old TX Highway. Same thing applies to TX Loop highways.

VS or

The blue and white shields are state highways, mostly built by TxDOT (segments 5 and 6 of SH 130 were not built by TxDOT but are still owned by the state and are part of the state highway, despite being operated and maintained by a private concessionaire). The yellow and blue shields are CTRMA roads and aren't state highways.

This comment is a little moot technically every single shielded road in texas is a part of the state highway system just becuase tolling authorities own the roads they are still jurisdictions of the state of Texas. The toll roads are part of the grid using technicalities saying the named or numbered toll routes aren't part of the system because they aren't managed by TXDOT. TXDOT and the tolling agencies agree on the designations and notice how some of the toll roads are constructed by TXDOT and turned over to the toll authorities to manage. Also there are tolled lanes owned by TXDOT in DFW on 114, 121, 183, I35 E/W I635, I820.

[bluecountry]

OK so

1) So few 'I's' in Houston due to
a.  Unforeseen levels of explosive growth late 20th century
b.  When funding for new interstates had dried up
c.   In a bottom of the US non-crossroads location

Going on a tangent,

1)  Why is there no direct, limited access highway from Houston to Austin?
-Given Austin is the capital and the Port of Houston/Galveston was well established this makes little sense.

2)  Why is I-45 'I-45' and not some non-two digit I?

[GaryV]

2)  Why is I-45 'I-45' and not some non-two digit I?

It wouldn't fit in the grid elsewhere because it would duplicate US-45 in some states.  So they "wasted" it in a single state, rather than skipping it altogether as with I-50 and I-60.

[bluecountry]

2)  Why is I-45 'I-45' and not some non-two digit I?

It wouldn't fit in the grid elsewhere because it would duplicate US-45 in some states.  So they "wasted" it in a single state, rather than skipping it altogether as with I-50 and I-60.

50/60 being skipped makes total sense given it would have likely run too close to US 50 & 60.

[hotdogPi]

2)  Why is I-45 'I-45' and not some non-two digit I?

It wouldn't fit in the grid elsewhere because it would duplicate US-45 in some states.  So they "wasted" it in a single state, rather than skipping it altogether as with I-50 and I-60.

If I-45 was on the 29/49 corridor, there would be no duplication with US 45.

[bwana39]

OK so

1) So few 'I's' in Houston due to
a.  Unforeseen levels of explosive growth late 20th century
b.  When funding for new interstates had dried up
c.   In a bottom of the US non-crossroads location

Going on a tangent,

1)  Why is there no direct, limited access highway from Houston to Austin?
-Given Austin is the capital and the Port of Houston/Galveston was well established this makes little sense.

2)  Why is I-45 'I-45' and not some non-two digit I?

As to answer #1) 60+ years ago, Government in Texas was truly small. Beyond that it was spread around the state. Austin was more comparable to Lubbock. Waco, or at most ElPaso in 1950.

Capitals of states does not mean influence. Even today some smaller state's Capital cities more closely resemble Texarkana than  Oklahoma City much less 21st century Austin. Back when the interstates were being planned in the fifties and sixties , Austin was a sleepy little town, not the Urban behemoth that it is today.

The legislature in Texas meets for about three months in ODD NUMBERED YEARS. While there are occasional special sessions, there still is not a permanent legislature in Austin. Austin was a small college town that HAPPENED to be the Capital. Even today, most of Texas holds no real esteem for Austin. It is kind of like the principal's office. Nothing good ever comes out of it and you certainly don't send rewards its way.

Government has grown in Texas. The University has grown. Much of the government has migrated from around the state to Austin. The concept of college alumni staying in the geographic area of universities has helped Austin grow. (As an aside A&M alumni have REALLY  grown out Bryan / College Station)

Back to Austin. I think almost everyone EXCEPT the legislature appreciates the need for better transportation infrastructure in Austin.  Austin itself fights between urbanists and people who understand that highways are the way Texans get around. Travis county is a Democrat stronghold (super majority) in a state that is significantly Republican. The legislature owes no allegiance to Austin. The legislature will leave it to TXDOT to duke it out with the differing parties.



#2) Even in the nineteen fifties, Texas was populous enough to get (deserve) two X5 Interstates. I-45 runs between the two most populous urban areas in Texas both then and now. . Why it failed to go farther is up for debate. Some say Texas wanted it to go to Amarillo (follow SH-114 & US-287) and lacked the funds to route it across so many desolate miles. Others suggest that other states (Oklahoma in particular) didn't want / need another  north / south interstate. AND when it was originally adopted there were ZERO other I-4X odd numbers in use, so of course, Texas opted to ask for the X5. As to the 3DI, when it was built, it was not that much shorter than many other 2DI's (and still is longer than all for the ODD I-4X numbers except I-49 and even that is just since 2015.) Beside that TEXAS has EXACTLY 2 Spur (odd first digit) 3DI's. Neither is two miles long.

TEXAS does NOT have an affinity to Interstate Spurs or even Interstate Loops as far as that matters.

[bluecountry]

Would be interesting to know if there were any other plans for extending I-45.
Also, why doesn't Texas like 3 digit spur/loop interstates?