TxDOT officials originally told KHOU 11 that the East Freeway could be shut down until Monday.
HOUSTON — A massive sinkhole has shut down part of the East Freeway, creating a major traffic mess on Houston’s east side.
All eastbound lanes of I-10 are closed near Federal Road, just outside the 610 Loop, with drivers being forced off the freeway at John Ralston Road. On the westbound side, one inside lane and the shoulder remain closed, but traffic is still moving.
The Texas Department of Transportation said the lanes would remain closed until at least Monday. TxDOT added that repairs would continue, but the freeway would definitely not reopen on Thursday.
“We don’t have a timeline to bring the roadway back online,” said Bambi Hall with TxDOT. “It will take a little more time. I’m not sure what the entirety of the city’s process may be. My understanding is whatever they have to do could take up to eight hours. And so that’ll put us into the middle of the night.”
According to TxDOT, reopening the freeway requires a two-step process. First, the City of Houston must repair a broken water main beneath the roadway. Only after that work is completed can TxDOT begin fixing the damaged freeway.
Houston Public Works crews began pumping water out of the sinkhole and conducting their assessment Wednesday evening, officials said.
“A little bit before 4 p.m., we got advised that there had been a failure in the roadway in that segment of I-10 around the Federal Road exit and so we went out from the southeast area office,” Hall said. “We had crews go out there and we met with City of Houston personnel, because what we discovered is that it was a broken water line underneath that segment of Interstate 10.”
Air 11 video showed the sinkhole spreading across the shoulder and damaging part of the roadway itself.
Earlier Wednesday, there was confusion over the scope of the closures after the City of Houston posted that westbound lanes would also be fully shut down. Hall said that the information was inaccurate.
“There has been some reports about all of the lanes being closed east and westbound along that segment of I-10, and that is not the case,” she said. “We did close all of the eastbound lanes, and we have one inside — that’s the left lane — plus the shoulder on the westbound side. And so, there is drivability along the westbound lanes, just not on that innermost lane and the shoulder next to the concrete barrier.”
Even after repairs are complete, Hall said the roadway will still need time to dry before traffic can return.
“When you’re doing roadway repair work, anything that involves asphalt concrete, it has to cure,” she said. “So that means it’s going to have to dry. So we’re going to have to have a drying period once the repair is even done.”
Alternate routes
Drivers should expect heavy traffic on the feeder road while the freeway remains closed.
Alternate routes include:
- Taking Highway 90 to Beltway 8 and reconnecting with I-10 East
- Using 610 South Loop to Highway 225, then the Beltway back to I-10
- Staying closer to the freeway by taking 610 South Loop to Market Street until it reconnects with I-10
- Using the I-10 feeder road, though delays are expected
KHOU 11 will continue tracking this major traffic disruption and post updates as new information becomes available.
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