traffic watch

Prepare for more lane closures on the 610 West Loop at Post Oak

The lane closures continue.

Photo by TxDOT

As evidenced by recent reports, the summer traffic doldrums continue. Houston commuters can expect more closures on the 610 Loop, the Texas Department of Transportation announced.

TxDOT will be hanging steel beams over a section of 610 West Loop southbound at Post Oak Boulevard on the weekends of June 28 and July 5, according to a release.

Expect several lane closures as work on the elevated dedicated bus lane continues. To prepare, contractors must position large cranes in the middle of the work zone of 610 at Post Oak.

This will cause a total closure overnight of 610 West Loop southbound from Woodway Drive to Post Oak Road from 9 pm, Monday, June 24, to 5 am, Tuesday, June 25. All traffic will exit at the Post Oak exit ramp and re-enter 610 southbound main lanes at the Post Oak entrance ramp before Post Oak Road.

Other major closures are being scheduled to allow for the installation of the steel beams. According to TxDOT, the following closures will occur from 9 pm Friday, June 28 to 5am Monday, July 1. The closures continue from 9 pm Friday, July 5, to 5 am Monday, July 8.

A total closure of 610 West Loop southbound from I-10 Katy to Post Oak Road
Thisincludes the 10 Katy direct connectors to 610 southbound. All 610 southbound traffic will be required to detour to I-10 eastbound or westbound. Eastbound traffic should continue I-10 eastbound to downtown to US 69 South to IH 610 West Loop. I-10 westbound traffic will be encouraged to detour in the vicinity of downtown to access 610 West Loop via US 69 southbound or continue downtown for alternate destinations.

The US 290 east connector to 610 West Loop southbound
To deal with the closure, drivers can detour by continuing on 610 North Loop eastbound to I-45 South to US 69 South to IH 610 West Loop.

The 610 West Loop northbound
Two inside lanes will be closed from South Post Oak Road to Woodway Drive.

As previously reported, the 610 West Loop Dedicated Bus Lane project seeks to improve mobility by adding a dedicated right of way and separating buses from general traffic to help reduce congestion on the 610 West Loop.

traffic

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”