Interstate 45 North - Galveston to Beltway 8 South
North
Just after IH 45 begins in Galveston, travelers find Exit 1A serving 61st Street, 71st Street and Scholes International Airport (GLS).
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IH 45 is the Veterans Memorial Freeway and a designated hurricane evacuation route.
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IH 45 shield formerly posted ahead of the 71st Street underpass.
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Exit 1C departs for FM 188 (Teichman Road), a 0.445 mile spur to the west, and SH 275 (Harborside Drive), a 6.25 mile route through industrial areas on north Galveston island east to SH 87 (Ferry Road).
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Texas City and La Marque lie across Galveston Bay. It is 47 miles to Houston, which shows the size of the Houston metropolitan area.
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Paralleling IH 45 along Galveston Causeway to the east is the original causeway taking a BNSF Railroad across Galveston Bay. Built in 1912, it served both rail and car traffic.
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The original northbound lanes for IH 45 on Galveston Causeway were built in 1938 as a drawbridge and rebuilt in 1964. The southbound lanes were constructed in 1960. The old causeway was demolished by December 17, 2006 2006 as part of the rebuilding project.
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The village of Tiki Island lines the shore of Galveston Bay west of Exit 4 with Virginia Point Road.
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IH 45 elevates across the BNSF Railroad ahead of the Gulf Freeway frontage road system beginning at Exit 5.
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Advance signage for Exit 7A, SH 3 and SH 146. Exit 7A serves the sister cities of Texas City and La Marque.
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SH 6 begins at Exit 7B. SH 6 is a major thoroughfare which runs through Alvin and eventually the west side of Houston towards College Station.
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SH 3 and SH 146 split from IH 45 at Exit 7A. Exit 7B is a left exit for SH 6.
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SH 6 angles northwest from IH 45 at Bayou Vista to Hitchcock before reaching the city of Alvin.
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Exit 7C lies just north of the exchange with SH 3, SH 6 and SH 146 with the Frontage Road near Bayou Vista.
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Continuing into the city of La Marque, the ensuing exit connects with the Gulf Freeway frontage road system in a low lying wetland area.
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Distance sign posted 38 miles southeast from Downtown Houston and 281 miles from the north end of IH 45 in Dallas.
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0.75 miles ahead of the diamond interchange (Exit 10) with SH 519 (Main Street) in La Marque.
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FM 519 travels 6.42 miles overall, from SH 6 in Hitchcock to SS 197 in Texas City.
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FM 519 is Main Street through Texas City. FM 519 was redesignated an Urban Road in 1995, however all Urban Roads (UR) are still signed as Farm Roads (FM) southeast of Houston.
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A split diamond interchange (Exit 11) joins IH 45 with Vautheir Street, Cedar Drive and Duroux Road in one quarter mile.
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Exit 11 leaves IH 45 north for Vauthier Road in La Marque. The local road extends north into residential areas of Texas City.
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FM 1765 (designated as another Urban Road) runs 7.96 miles east from FM (UR) 2004 to SL 197.
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Entering the split diamond interchange (Exit 12) with FM 1765 (Texas Avenue). FM 1765 straddles the La Marque and Texas City line east to SH 3 along a seven lane boulevard.
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Advancing north from FM 1765, IH 45 runs along the La Marque and Texas City line to Exit 13 with Delaney Road south and Century Boulevard north.
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FM (UR) 2004 originates from SH 26 to the south at Jones Creek. Heading north to Lake Jackson, Richwood, Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge and Hitchcock, the state highway meets IH 45 on the La Marque / Texas City line at Exit 15. FM 2004 concludes north of FM 1764 at SH 3 in Texas City. FM 1764 branches 7.59 miles east from IH 45 to 14th Street in Texas City.
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Wholly entering Texas City, IH 45 continues north to a diamond interchange (Exit 17) for Holland Road west and Hughes Road east.
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Exit 17 departs IH 45 north for Holland Road west to the adjacent Tanger Outlets Houston retail complex and Avenue J in Dickinson. Hughes Road runs along the Dickinson city line to the north between IH 45 and SH 3.
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Downtown Houston lies 30 miles beyond the Holland Road overpass. Dallas is 273 miles away.
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The ensuing exit connects IH 45 with FM (UR) 517 across Dickinson Bayou.
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FM 517 commences a 21.08 mile route at SH 35 in Alvin. Leading east FM 517 meets FM (UR) 646 along the Dickinson and League City line. East from IH 45 and Exit 19, FM 517 and 646 eventually come together at a shared end point in San Leon.
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FM 646 arcs north from FM 517 to IH 45 at Exit 20 in League City. Santa Fe, south of Dickinson, was incorporated in 1989 as one of the newer cities in the Houston area.
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FM (UR) 646 comprises a 22.44 mile long arterial loop from FM 2004 on the Hitchcock city line north to League City and east to Bay Shore Drive and 9th Street (FM 517) in San Leon.
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SH 96 (League City Parkway) stems 6.54 miles east from IH 45 and Exit 22 to SH 146 at Kemah.
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League City Parkway extends 4.5 mile west from SH 96 and Calder Drive as a locally maintained arterial through a bevy of suburban development. Brittany Bay Boulevard was of IH 45 was renamed as part of an extended League City Parkway by League City officials in 2006.1
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FM 518 (Main Street) crosses paths with IH 45 at Exit 23 in League City.
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FM 518 runs 25.46 miles from SH 288 in Pearland to SH 146 at Kemah through suburban Friendswood and League City.
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Spanning Cedar Creek, IH 45 northbound crosses the Harris County and Webster city line. Forthcoming NASA Route 1 was created from FM 528 in 1965 after the construction of Johnson Space Center. FM (UR) 528 remains west of IH 45.
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Exit 25 departs IH 45 north for the Gulf Freeway frontage road ahead of Nasa Route 1 east and FM 528 west. NASA Route 1, in addition to Johnson Space Center, serves Clear Lake City and Kemah Boardwalk. The western 2.72 miles of the 7.98 miles of Nasa Route 1 east to SH 146 were upgraded to a freeway.
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Forthcoming Bay Area Boulevard meets IH 45 amid a densely developed retail area anchored by Baybrook Mall in Webster. The arterial route extends northeast into the Houston city limits to University of Houston at Clear Lake.
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Bay Area Boulevard arcs southward from Exit 26 and Webster through east Friendswood and the western suburbs of League City.
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Interstate 45 enters the city of Houston at Exit 27 with El Dorado Boulevard. The succeeding off-ramp is for FM 2351 (Clear Lake City Boulevard).
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IH 45 and FM 2351 (Clear Lake City Boulevard) come together a rural exchange across Friendswood Oil Field.
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A 5.88 mile route, FL 2351 angles southwest through Friendswood to the Brazoria County line along Edgewood Drive. Clear Lake City Boulevard leads the FM road east to parallel SH 3.
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IH 45 advances 18 miles northwest through Houston to Downtown. Dallas lies 243 miles further at IH 45 and IH 30.
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Exit 30 joins IH 45 with Dixie Farm Road southwest to San Jacinto College South and SH 35 in the city of Pearland.
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An entrance ramp to the IH 45 Express Lane departs from the Frontage Road at Exit 31. Formerly an HOV lane, the tolled managed flow lane, opens inbound to Downtown during the morning peak hours and outbound (south) during the afternoon and evening peak hours.
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Exit 31 serves the Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tollway) frontage road system as well as FM (UR) 2553. FM 2553 (Scarsdale Boulevard) is another short connector between IH 45 and SH 3.
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A systems interchange joins IH 45 with the Sam Houston Tollway directly at Exit 32. Beltway 8 actually consists of only the frontage roads as state law prohibits operation of Toll roads. HCTRA (Harris County Toll Road Authority) controls the limited access lanes of Beltway 8 - hence why it is known as the Sam Houston Tollway and signed with a county route shield.
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The IH 45 Express lane flyovers cross over the general travel lanes to the freeway center line ahead of Beltway 8, at what is called the "Gulf Freeway Wishbone".
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The former HOV lane stub south of Scarsdale Boulevard. The IH 45 Express lane was extended south during Gulf Freeway expansion between 2010 and 2015.
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The Sam Houston Tollway forms an 87.84 mile long loop encircling Houston.
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Two lanes elevate from IH 45 northbound onto flyovers for the Sam Houston Tollway west to SH 288 at Pearland, Missouri City and IH 69/U.S. 59 near Sugarland and the toll road north to Pasadena and IH 10 at Cloverleaf.
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References:
- "Part of Brittany Bay road may be renamed." Houston Chronicle (TX), May 17, 2006.
Photo Credits:
- AARoads: 10/22/03
Page Updated Saturday July 13, 2019.