By David Taylor / Managing Editor
Oh, the joys of Houston traffic.
Absolutely no one enjoys the commute into Houston traffic, but coming home to a massive sink hole just miles from home is just the worst.
Last week, drivers were faced with a growing massive sink hole in the eastbound lane of Interstate 10 between Federal Road and Normandy last Wednesday.
Miraculously, no one was reported injured and no vehicles wrecked because of the 12-foot wide sink hole.
The discovery of the hole brought traffic to a standstill and left City of Houston and TxDOT officials scrambling.
Traffic was backed up for miles both directions while officials quickly discovered that a water main leak beneath the roadway was the culprit, causing the destruction of the bridge and the formation of a 12-foo-wide sinkhole.
“A massive sinkhole has shut down part of the East Freeway, creating a major traffic mess on Houston’s east side,” TxDOT reported. All eastbound lanes of I-10 were closed near Federal Road, just outside the 610 Loop, forcing drivers off the freeway at John Ralston Road. On the westbound side, one inside lane and the shoulder remained closed, though traffic continued to move.
TxDOT spokesperson Bambi Hall explained the uncertainty surrounding the reopening.
“We don’t have a timeline to bring the roadway back online. 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 required a two-step process: first, the City of Houston had to repair the broken water main beneath the roadway. Only after that work was completed could TxDOT begin fixing the damaged freeway.
Houston Public Works crews began pumping water out of the sinkhole and conducting their assessment Wednesday evening.
“A little bit before 4 p.m., we were 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.”
The chaos was compounded by confusion over the scope of the closures. The City of Houston initially posted that westbound lanes would also be fully shut down, but Hall clarified, “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. We did close all 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 were complete, Hall warned that the roadway would still need time to dry before traffic could return.
“When you’re doing roadway repair work, anything that involves asphalt concrete has to cure. 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.”
Drivers were advised to expect heavy traffic on the feeder road and to use alternative routes, including Highway 90 to Beltway 8, 610 South Loop to Highway 225, or Market Street to reconnect with I-10. Delays were expected, and TxDOT urged motorists to drive with caution through work zones and to be on the lookout for work crews and their equipment.
The delays spilled over onto New US 90 east toward Crosby. Commuters faced backups from FM 2100 in Crosby as far back as Beltway 8 into North Shore.
By Friday, just 48 hours later, all crews and equipment were gone and all lanes reopened.
Leave a Comment: