be prepared to stop

Prepare for major lane closures at Southwest Freeway at 610 West Loop this weekend

All northbound and southbound mainlanes of the Southwest Freeway at 610 will be closed this weekend.

Photo courtesy of TxDOT

Another weekend, another Houston highway closure — one that's quite familiar to Inner Loop drivers.

Starting at 8 pm Friday, August 25, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) will close all northbound and southbound mainlanes of the Southwest Freeway (I-69) at the 610 West Loop. The main lanes will reopen again at 5 am Monday, August 28.

As locals are aware, these lane closures are part of the 610 West Loop/ I-69 Southwest Freeway interchange project. Work crews will continue construction of the new 69 southbound connector ramp to 610 southbound while performing other work related to the interchange project.

Aside from the mainlane closures, more ramp closures — including some nightly closures — will be part of this weekend work. Closure and detour information can be found at the official I-610 West Loop/ I-69 Southwest Freeway interchange project website.

What to do? Expect big delays in the area this weekend, consider an alternate route, and be sure to app-map your trip way ahead of time. Police officers will be onsite to assist with traffic control, per TxDOT. In short, Waze or Google Map wisely, drivers.

"We are certainly getting closer to the completion of the I-610 West Loop/ I-69 Southwest Freeway interchange project," TxDOT spokesman Danny Perez told CultureMap recently, "but to get us to the finish line, we have complete various phases of the project that call for major roadway closures. We do appreciate the public’s patience and we will continue to do all we can to minimize the impacts to the traveling public."

As CultureMap has regularly reported, the I-69/I-610 interchange project is a $259 million endeavor aimed at significantly enhancing safety and improving mobility by widening the connector ramps to two lanes, increasing sight distances, and providing remedies to eliminate weaving.

In some good news, as CultureMap reported, TxDOT reopened the newly constructed southbound mainlanes of the West Loop bridge over the I-69 Southwest Freeway on July 17, meaner smoother passage for commuters.

Before departing this weekend, drivers can get updates at the Houston TranStar website and at the I-610 W. Loop/I-69 SW Freeway Interchange website. Follow the HOU 610 at 69 Twitter page for updates and more information.

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.”