IH-45 Traffic Conditions

Nightly total closures of the main southbound lanes of IH-45—from NASA 1 to FM 518 and SH 96—will begin on Tues., January 24, and run through Weds., February 8. The lanes will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays, and from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekends. Southbound IH-45 traffic will detour via the FM 518 exit and re-enter IH-45 via the entrance ramp south of FM 518.

To keep southbound feeder road traffic moving during the closures, there will also be nightly total closures of the FM 518 intersection at IH-45 for vehicles traversing on FM 518. 

Construction crews will be working on the IH-45 bridge over Clear Creek, requiring the lane closures. All work and dates are weather permitting. Please see the TX-DOT website for updates, check traffic conditions online and adjust commute times as necessary. 

The University of Texas Medical Branch is monitoring the strong system of arctic air forecasted to affect areas where UTMB operates. All UTMB hospitals and emergency rooms will remain open. UTMB clinics will follow their normal holiday schedule.

The period from Thursday evening (Dec. 22) through Saturday morning (Dec. 24) is predicted to bring freezing temperatures to the Houston/Galveston region along with the potential for gale force winds of up to 50 mph along the Southeast Texas coast. The combination of cold temperatures and strong winds has the potential to create a dangerous wind chill index for our region.

UTMB has worked over the past several days to ensure our electricity delivery and water supplies are prepared for the upcoming winter weather. This arctic weather isn’t predicted to be as severe or as long lasting as the event in early 2021. We plan to continue our normal operations, and UTMB is well prepared for any weather-related interruptions.

Patient Care:

• All UTMB hospitals and emergency rooms will remain open.
• UTMB clinics are currently planning to maintain their normal holiday schedule during this period of inclement weather. For more details, please refer to our Clinic Winter Holiday Schedule.

Students: While classes have concluded for the winter break, the Jamail Student Center and Old Red will be open for students to study during this time. Students will have badge access to the common areas 24 hours a day.

As with any weather system, forecasts may change quickly. UTMB Incident Command will continually monitor conditions and communicate UTMB-related updates as new information becomes available:

• iUTMB (internal only)
• UTMB Alerts
• Patient Care at UTMB Health
• On Facebook: UTMB Health and I Am UTMB

TX-DOT announced some significant highway closures THIS SATURDAY in the League City area that could impact access to the UTMB Health League City Campus and other clinics in the region.

TxDOT will perform a total closure of I-45 this Saturday morning, November 12, to set the remaining two overhead sign structures near the SH 96 overpass.

This work will include a total closure of the northbound main lanes on Saturday from 6 am to noon, and a short-term total closure of the southbound main lanes only when setting the structures.

TxDOT is also switching the northbound main lane traffic to the permanent configuration from north of FM 517 to north of SH 96 this weekend. This work will be performed from Friday at 9 pm to Monday at 5 am. It will include an alternating northbound two-lane closure from FM 517 to north of SH 96, and closure of the following ramps:

• NB FM 518 exit
• NB FM 646 entrance
• NB SH 96 exit
• NB FM 517 entrance

The northbound FM 646 exit ramp will remain open all weekend. This will serve as the exit during the total closure and the detour for the SH 96 and FM 518 exits all weekend during the traffic switch.

The SH 96 entrance ramp will also remain open all weekend for traffic to re-enter the northbound lanes. Southbound traffic will exit to SH 96 during the short-term total closure and be able to re-enter via the SH 96 entrance ramp. TxDOT will provide off-duty officers to assist with traffic flow at the FM 517, FM 646, and SH 96 intersections.

Please check Transtar and other online traffic monitoring tools to plan accordingly and avoid slowdowns. As always, highway work is weather dependent and closures may be adjusted accordingly.

TX-DOT announced some significant highway closures THIS WEEKEND in the League City area that could impact access to the UTMB Health League City Campus and other clinics in the region. The work will be concentrated on IH-45 between FM 518 and FM 517, and is scheduled to begin on Friday, Aug. 26 at 9 p.m. and conclude Monday, Aug. 29 at 5 a.m. 

The closures will enable a contractor to apply final striping on the southbound main lanes from south of FM 518 (in League City) to north of FM 517 (in Dickinson). It will affect travel lanes and entrance and exit ramps. Here's what's planned for this weekend: 

IH-45 Gulf Freeway:

1. Alternating closure of two southbound main lanes from north of FM 518 to south of FM 517. No detour is required, as one southbound main lane will remain open, but slowdowns will be likely. 
   
   
2. Total closure of the southbound main lane ENTRANCE ramps between FM 518 and FM 517. Detour – Motorists can enter the southbound mainlanes south of FM 517 using the entrance ramp from FM 517, but the feeder lanes in the area may be congested and slowdowns are likely.  
   
   
3. Total closure of the southbound main lane EXIT ramps ramps between SH 96 and FM 517.
   Detour – Motorists can exit the main lanes using the southbound exit to SH 96 or the exit to Holland Road, as these will remain open.

Please check Transtar and other online traffic monitoring tools to plan accordingly and avoid slowdowns. As always, highway work is weather dependent and closures may be adjusted accordingly.

TXDOT announced a lane closure for next week on IH-45 southbound near Tiki Island, on the approach to the Galveston Causeway.

Beginning Monday, July 18  until Friday, July 22, one outside southbound lane will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

The work will center on the BNSF railroad overpass. The work is being scheduled to reduce the impact to morning commuters heading to the island; two lanes southbound will remain open during the construction.  

Remember schedules can change. Please check road and traffic conditions when headed to or leaving the Galveston campus, and allow additional time as necessary. 

TXDOT announced lane closures next week in the I-45 northbound main lanes near Galveston. On Tuesday and Wednesday, July 5-6, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., two lanes will be closed on I-45 northbound near Galveston. The Tiki Island exit ramp lane and the outside travel lane will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both days.

On Thursday and Friday, July 7-8, there will be alternating single lane closures in these two lanes. The work is part of a project to replace the Santa Fe overpass bridge.

Remember schedules can change. Please check road and traffic conditions before leaving the Galveston campus, and allow additional time as necessary. 

Three lanes heading in each direction--northbound and southbound on I-45 into/out of Galveston--are now open, alleviating some of congestion associated with highway construction in past weeks. Work will continue in the area near Tiki Island, just north of the Galveston Causeway, for the next two years. 
 
Please be safe and exercise caution and patience while driving through highway construction zones. There are no shoulders and lanes are tight in many stretches under construction.  

Please check road and traffic conditions before coming to the Galveston campus, and allow additional time as necessary. 

As of Weds., May 18, three southbound lanes on I-45 into Galveston have been opened, alleviating some of congestion facing morning commuters. However, only two lanes were open northbound, off the island, still creating a bottleneck on the Galveston Causeway during afternoon/evening commutes. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), which has active construction on  I-45 throughout Galveston County, is working toward opening and maintaining three lanes northbound and southbound, while work continues in the area near Tiki Island for the next two years.     

As another hot weekend approaches, it’s highly likely the island will experience a large influx of visitors, and it could affect traffic. Please check road and traffic conditions before coming to the Galveston campus, and allow additional time as necessary. Please be safe and exercise caution and patience while driving through highway construction zones. 

As we head into a warm weekend that will attract visitors to Galveston Island, please remember that I-45 is currently down to two lanes northbound and southbound on the BNSF Railway Bridge near Tiki Island. Plan for heavy traffic/travel delays coming to and leaving the island.

Relief should be coming soon, however. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announced today that crews will work during off-peak nighttime hours next week to ensure three lanes can be open, both northbound and southbound, while the long-term bridge replacement project progresses.

It will take a few days to complete this work, so please continue to monitor the following sources for updates and road conditions, and allow additional time if needed to reach your destination:

• Houston Transtar Traffic and Map* 
• TxDOT Construction Schedule and Closures (filter on "IH-45 in Galveston County") 
• Google Maps Live Traffic  
• Waze Live Map  

*NOTE: If you are reviewing Transtar freeway cams, check the date stamp to ensure the image is recent. Cameras have been operating sporadically during construction.

For information on commuter solutions Monday through Friday, visit the UTMB transit page.

TxDOT has announced a new plan which will allow it to restore IH-45 – which is currently under construction north of the Galveston Island Causeway – to a configuration that will provide three lanes in each direction (northbound and southbound) north of the Galveston Causeway and allow for the northbound passage of overweight vehicles. Once in place, this new approach should help alleviate the challenges faced by motorists this past week. 

A series of construction-related lane and ramp closures are affecting portions of Interstate Highway 45 in southern Galveston County, and affecting access to Galveston Island during peak traffic periods. This week, UTMB Health and other regional officials met with the Texas Department of Transportation to get a better understanding of these projects and their impact.    

While many of the details are still in flux, this is what we currently know:

• This is a two-year project to replace two highway bridges (the “Santa Fe” bridges) on IH-45, east of Tiki Island and just north of the Galveston Causeway.
• The northbound bridge is in critical condition and will be demolished first, to begin a year-long rebuilding process. The demolition and reconstruction of the second bridge will follow.
• As the first bridge is prepared for demolition, all traffic on IH-45 will be concentrated to five lanes: two lanes headed southbound (toward island) and three headed northbound.
• All five lanes of traffic will be moved to what is currently the southbound bridge of the Galveston Causeway, starting at about Harborside Drive, and routed over the remaining Santa Fe bridge.
• The area affected by this work will stretch about 3 miles, and then northbound traffic will be moved back to its own side of the interstate. 
• The main project will begin in 4 to 5 weeks. 

In addition to the impact on UTMB commuters, our patients, emergency services and supplies, the work is impacting island residents, the Port of Galveston, cruise lines, special events, businesses, storm evacuation plans, and more.

TxDOT is working on strategies to alleviate impact on motorists, and UTMB officials are also actively reviewing plans and exploring options across all entities to help address the issue of island access and traffic bottlenecks.  

A map will be released soon by TxDOT with additional project details (all still subject to revision), and we will share once available. 

Please review the following sources for updates and road conditions, and allow additional time if needed to reach your destination:

• Houston Transtar Traffic Map*
• TxDOT Construction Schedule and Closures (filter on "IH-45 in Galveston County")
• Google Maps Live Traffic 
• Waze Live Map 

* If you are reviewing Transtar freeway cams, check the date stamp to ensure the image is live. Cameras have been operating sporadically during construction.