Gulf Freeway
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The Gulf Freeway is a stretch of Interstate Highway 45 in the U.S. state of Texas, connecting Galveston with Houston. It was the first freeway in Houston, opened in stages from 1948 to 1952 as part of U.S. Highway 75. At the north (Houston) end, it connects to the North Freeway via the short Pierce Elevated, completed in 1967.[TexasFreeway - Interstate 45 South, the Gulf Freeway] The section north of the curve near Monroe Road/State Highway 3 in southeastern Houston was built on the right-of-way of the former Galveston-Houston Electric Railway, which entered downtown on Pierce Street.[Houston Streetcars - Galveston-Houston Interurban]Texas State Highway Department, [General Highway Map - Harris County Texas, Supplementary Sheet 3 of 4], 1936 (revised to November 23, 1939
Description
Interstate Highway 45 begins at State Highway 87 and Spur 342 in Galveston, though it is not clear if that section is part of the Gulf Freeway. After several interchanges, IH 45 crosses the Galveston Causeway and passes Tiki Island. The split with State Highway 6 and State Highway 146 (to State Highway 3) may be the beginning of the Gulf Freeway; old U.S. Highway 75 south of this junction was upgraded on the spot.Texas State Highway Department, [General Highway Map - Galveston County Texas], 1936 (revised to November 23, 1939)The Gulf Freeway generally parallels State Highway 3 - old US 75 - about 1 mile (1.5 km) to the west, bypassing La Marque, Dickinson and South Houston. It includes interchanges with several other freeways - the Emmett F. Lowry Expressway (Farm to Market Road 1764), NASA Road 1 Bypass (freeway under construction) and the Sam Houston Tollway - meeting the north end of State Highway 3 in southeastern Houston. (This part of SH 3 - on Winkler Drive and Monroe Road - is not part of old US 75.) A center reversible HOV lane begins just south of the Sam Houston Tollway.
In Houston, IH 45 meets Interstate Highway 610 and State Highway 35 at a complicated interchange. At the merge with Spur 5, a short freeway spur to the University of Houston, elevated collector-distributor roads (also part of Spur 5) begin. The C/D roads and the HOV lane end at Dowling Street, the original end of the Gulf Freeway. Just past Dowling Street is an interchange with U.S. Highway 59 (Eastex Freeway and Southwest Freeway) and State Highway 288 (South Freeway), after which IH 45 technically becomes the North Freeway as it runs along the northeast half of the block between Pierce Street and Gray Street as the Pierce Elevated.
HOV lanes
The reversible high-occupancy vehicle lane begins in downtown Houston at the intersection of St. Joseph Parkway and Dowling Street, with easy access inbound to St. Joseph Parkway and outbound from Pierce Street. It runs down the median of the Gulf Freeway, mostly at the same level as the main lanes. Ramps are provided for access to and from the following roads:- Eastwood Transit Center - full access
- Interstate Highway 610 north frontage road - full access
- Monroe Road and Monroe Park & Ride - full access
- Fuqua Park & Ride and South Point Park & Ride - full access
- Frontage roads north of Dixie Farm Road (Farm to Market Road 1959) - towards downtown, with a ramp stub for continuation
References
External links
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