Take the low road with METRO
A bridge less traveled: Main Street artery to close for 14 months to make wayfor two new bridges
METRO Rail service will remain intact.
A bird's eye view of the future of rail in downtown Houston.Map via Go Metro Rail
Downtown drivers will be making a few detours in the 14 months ahead as the North Main Street bridge alongside the University of Houston-Downtown closes starting Monday to make way for METRO Rail North Line construction. Light rail service will continue and pedestrian access on the UH-Downtown side of the street will remain intact.
The project will result in a two separate bridges for rail and vehicular uses. The 420-foot Main Street bridge over White Oak Bayou abutting University of Houston-Downtown will be replaced, and rising beside it will be a new 2,500-foot bridge over the freight rail line.
For downtown-bound drivers heading south on Main Street, METRO suggests taking a left at Hogan (which becomes Lorraine), taking a right on Maury, right on Lyons, left on McKee, right on Providence, left on North San Jacinto and connecting back to Main via Commerce — at which point drivers will discover a pot of gold.
The advised northbound traffic detour is another delightful maze: Right on Franklin, left on San Jacinto, right on Rothwell, left on Hardy, right on Lyons, left on Maury, left on Lorraine to Hogan and back to North Main Street, where drivers will see the rising buttresses of an elevated section of the METRO line, begging the question: Shouldn't the entire system be a monorail with unobstructed right of way?
The 5.3-mile stretch of the North Line is scheduled to open in 2014.
Are you annoyed by the bridge closure? Does the implementation of a two bridge system appear unnecessary? Or are you eagerly anticipating swift access to Northline Mall?
