One of the Sam Houston toll plazas. Image credit: flickr/Bill Jacobus
The portion of the tollway that’s affected is between State Highway 225 and Interstate-10, and that includes the Ship Channel Bridge.
The Harris County Toll Road Authority says the northbound lanes will be totally closed this weekend as it works to convert the road to all-electronic tolling. Cpt. Calvin Harvey with HCTRA Incident Management says drivers also need to be aware of lane restrictions on the southbound tollway.
“The construction is only requiring us to close one lane south of the toll plaza. So we want to keep the traffic flowing even though it may be slow through the area, but we’d prefer to do that than totally closing it down. And the workers can work in one lane,” explains Harvey.
Harvey says there may be other closures over the next few months as they work to demolish the old toll booths.
“Hopefully by the end of the year, the bridge plaza there will be all electronic and we will no longer be collecting cash at this location,” says Harvey.
This weekend’s closure on the Sam Houston Tollway starts at 9 p.m. Friday. The road is set to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday.
Alternate routes during the closure include the Washburn Tunnel, the 610 bridge, and the Lynchburg Ferry.