Interstate 45 North - Houston to Conroe

Merging onto IH 45 north from Beltway 8, travelers head one mile to Exit 63 with Airtex Drive.

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Straddling the north Houston city line, IH 45 advances toward Airtex Drive.

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Exit 63 joins the North Freeway Service Road as IH 45 leaves the Houston city limits. Airtex Drive is an arterial serving nearby industrial parks and residential areas east to the Hardy Toll Road.

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Crossing over Airtex Drive, one mile south of Exit 64 for Richey Road. IH 45 is in the suburb of Spring at this point.

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Entering the diamond interchange (Exit 64) with Richey Road on IH 45 north. Richey Road is an arterial west to Ella Boulevard and east to FM 1960 in north Houston.

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FM 1960 is a major local road through North Houston. East from IH 45, it loops to IH 69/U.S. 59 at Humble, Lake Houston and U.S. 90 in Dayton. Westward, FM 1960 arcs southwest to SH 249 and U.S. 290 at SH 6 near Jersey Village.

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Exit 66A is a three level interchange, with the main lanes of FM 1960 depressed under the feeder roads, and IH 45 crossing over the top of both. Exit 66A also serves the Spring Park and Ride. There are several Park and Rides facilities along the North Freeway with direct connections to the Express lane.

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Exit 66B is a split diamond interchange joining IH 45 with Parrametta Lane east and Hollow Tree Lane west ahead of Cypress Creek.

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Cypresswood Drive and Holzwarth Road converge in a commercialized area adjacent to IH 45 at the ensuing exit.

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IH 45 north next meets the east end of FM 2920, a 30.81 mile long highway west to U.S. 290 Business at Waller.

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FM 2920 runs west from IH 45 to the city of Tomball. Tomball was previously a small farm town that grew rapidly as the ring of Houston suburbs pushed further north through Harris County.

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Exit 70B follows FM 2920 (Spring Cypress Road) for Spring Stuebner Road west in the community of Spring. The slip ramp to the North Freeway Service Road also leads motorists on IH 45 to the three level interchange with Grand Parkway (SH 99).

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Continuing north from Grand Parkway (SH 99) at Spring, IH 45 converges with the north end of the Hardy Toll Road. The parallel reliever for IH 45 originates from IH 610 in Houston, 21.03 miles to the south.

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The Hardy Toll Road merges onto IH 45 northbound directly at a wye interchange. Exit 72 utilizes the frontage road systems of both roadways to make the connection.

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The Hardy Toll Road merges with IH 45 just ahead of Spring Creek and the Montgomery County line. The succeeding exit is for Sawdust Road / Rayford Road, a commercial arterial to southern reaches of The Woodlands suburban community.

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The next five exits along IH 45 north serve The Woodlands, Houston's most successful suburb.

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Exit 73 departs IH 45 northbound for Sawdust Road west into The Woodlands and Rayford Road southeast by an array of subdivisions to SH 99.

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Commercialized frontage accompanies IH 45 north to the flyover (Exit 76) with Woodlands Parkway.

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IH 45 runs along the west side of the Oak Ridge North city limits at the departure of Exit 76. Woodlands Parkway stems west from Robinson Road to the heart of The Woodlands community by The Woodlands Mall and the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation building.

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Exit 77 ties into a trumpet interchange with Lake Woodlands Drive west by The Woodlands Mall. The ensuing ramps are Exit 79B for SH 242 (College Park Drive) and Needham Road and the flyover (Exit 79B) for SH 242 west.

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SH 242 connects with IH 69/U.S. 59 at Patton Village to the east, and FM 1488 beyond W.G. Jones State Forest to the west.

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Direct connect flyovers were constructed from IH 45 north to SH 242 west and from SH 242 west to IH 45 south over a two and a half year period. The $34 million ramps opened to traffic on May 11, 2015. Tolls were collected electronically on the flyovers from July 6, 2015¹ to May 30, 2019. Costs for building the elevated ramps were paid off in January 2018, and following a grassroots effort and citizen complaints, the Montgomery County Commissioners Court ultimately voted to remove the tolls.²

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FM 1488 runs 41.13 miles west from IH 45 to U.S. 290 Business at Hempstead, via Magnolia.

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Exit 81 departs IH 45 north in south Conroe ahead of a cloverleaf interchange joining the North Freeway frontage roads with FM 1488.

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FM 1097 (Montgomery Street) meets IH 45 at the first of three exits for the city of Willis. FM 1097 arcs northeast from Willis to SH 150 through Sam Houston National Forest. West across Lake Conroe, FM 1097 continues to FM 149 at Montgomery.

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Leading away from Willis, IH 45 travels 18 miles to Huntsville and 187 miles to Dallas.

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SH 75, the former alignment of U.S. 75, closely parallels IH 45 from Conroe to Streetman. Exit 98 joins SH 75 ahead of Shepard Hill Road west toward Lake Conroe.

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