Below is a map of the Houston area, showing key highways and some of the surrounding towns. Houston is divided into North, South, East, and West. The Interstate 10 runs through the center of Houston and travels East to West. Anything North of I-10 is described as North Houston, and anything South, is South Houston. East and West are divided by Downtown Houston. Many of the roads here have one or more names, which are commonly used in traffic reports. The more common of these are:

I-10 West (The Katy Freeway)
I-10 East (The Baytown Freeway)
I-45 South (The Gulf Freeway)
Highway 59 South (The Southwest Freeway)
Highway 59 North (The Eastex Freeway)
Highway 290 (The Northwest Freeway)
Sam Houston Tollway (The Beltway or Beltway 8 )
Highway 610 (The Loop)

Toll Roads in Houston

Houston has a number of toll roads. The one most frequently used is the Sam Houston Tollway (this is the easiest way to get from Bush Intercontinental Airport to I-10). There are two ways to pay:

Cash: payable either in exact change, which you throw into a receptable (coins only) or at a Full Service booth, where change can be given.

EZ Tag: An electronic tag, which must be arranged in advance by contacting the relevent office. Details of the nearest office can be found on the website at www.eztagstore.com. This site also allows you to open a new account, update vehicle information, etc. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at your own convenience.

HOV Lanes

Highways that lead into Downtown Houston have High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes where at designated times and rush hours cars traveling with 2 (off peak) or 3 (peak) may drive in a separate lane. Entrance ramps are placed in designated areas so watch for signs if you are trying to use the HOV  lane. The police monitor these exits so they are not abused. The lane direction is reversed for vehicles leaving the city in the afternoon.

Tags: Driving in Houston, houston, Houston Highway Laws, Houston Highway System, Houston Highways, Houston Texas, Mckenzie Drake, Suzanne Carpenter, Texas

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 5:42 pm and is filed under Uncategorized . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.