19-23 Houston: Down and Out

[@justinmielsch5936]

As a houstonian I gots somthing to say people who drive in the left lane going 55 ..... stop it..... get some help....

[@seekfactsnotfiction9056]

I am sick and tired of those people! They need to go back to driving school and learn rules! Last time I've seen those was today coming back from work lol

[@kiaramariesmith89]

Thank you😂

[@comfortzone1223]

Yes it drives me nuts and what makes it worse is having 2 cara on the other lanes driving same speed so you can not switch lanes

[@tonyreyes5262]

For real

[@maureencora1]

Yeah, Left Lane Fast, Right Lane Slow Y'all.

[@zachmatt3]

Uptown is my favorite area of Houston. It's bigger than the downtowns of most U.S. cities. The Medical Center area is also like a high rise city within a city. There's a huge amount of architecture, parks, and neighborhoods to see in Houston. I know this is about freeways, though, and I like that as much as anyone. Thanks, Jim. I love all of your videos.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much, I'd like to explore Uptown off the freeways someday.

[@BrandonClaridge]

It's been many years since I've been to Houston, but my family and I always stayed in Uptown when we went on vacation there. I know it's changed a lot since I've been there last, but I thought it was a very pretty area. That said, compared with a proper downtown it still has many suburban elements (a lot of surface parking lots, strip shopping centers, etc.) which probably hurts the walkability factor of that area, though I recall it was still very easy to walk from our hotel to the Galleria. I was only a kid at the time, and I was still fascinated by their freeways! Not to mention this was before the Katy Freeway got its makeover, so US 59 Southwest (now signed as part of I-69) was probably the most impressive freeway in Houston at that time, followed by I-45 North outside of Beltway 8. And the drive along I-610 west still looks good, like a more impressive version of Dallas' North Central Expressway between downtown and I-635 (taller buildings on both sides of the freeway, high mast lights), though the NCE/US 75 still beats I-610 on aesthetics, and the High Five interchange at 635 is probably more impressive than anything I've seen in Houston (whether in-person or online). I'd say Houston has won the freeway "arms race" over DFW in terms of having large freeways that are built to a high standard. More DFW projects seem to make compromises on things like lane width and the sort (don't even get me started on the I-35E rebuild from I-635 to Denton, that one needed to be rebuilt almost as soon as it got finished; although the US 290 project NW of Houston also compromised on lane width, at least it has a full inside shoulder in most places where I-35E does not).

[@zachmatt3]

@@BrandonClaridge My experience is that Uptown is way more urban than it was. There are still some lots left, but at the rate highrises are being built, the lots won't be there long. What's amazing to me is that Uptown has crossed to the east side of 610. At least I think that's Uptown as well. There's no gap in highrise development. If you take a tour of Uptown on Streetview, what you'll find is pretty amazing.

[@BrandonClaridge]

@@zachmatt3 I based my perception on the surface lots around the satellite imagery I found on Google Maps, especially around the intersection of Post Oak and Westheimer, not on my prior visits to the city. It looks fairly urban on the ground (based on Street View imagery) but there seem to be some fairly large surface parking lots when looking at it from above. I also looked on Street View to see any changes at the intersection of Hidalgo and Sage. My family and I had stayed at what is now the Sonesta ES Suites (at the time it was a Staybridge Suites, and my family was pretty much loyal to that hotel brand, booking them for some of our other vacations too), so I have a pretty good visual memory of what that intersection looked like back then. And indeed, it is more urban now. The lack of streetside retail sort of takes away from a truly urban feel, with much of the walkable developments consisting of apartments, hotels, and office buildings. Though it must be noted that the Galleria completely dominates the retail scene in the Uptown area, but even other retail in that area is in a strip-shopping-center format. Keep in mind that I have only considered developments on the west side of 610 here (the traditional "Uptown" area), which has excluded newer developments east of 610 such as the River Oaks District (which has upscale streetside retail).

[@zachmatt3]

@@BrandonClaridge Thanks...you have some good insight, more than I do. Do you participate in the skyscraperpage forum?

[@eezyclsmooth9035]

As far as "ride along videos" go FWJ are without a doubt the most enjoyable and highest quality. The stable camera and great editing and music selection and don't forget the informative captions make these videos watchable again and again!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you, I really appreciate that and thanks for watching!

[@OfficialQueenslandMappings]

This is my favorite video because you started in my hometown and I also live in The Woodlands and drove on that exact section on the freeway, you were on the entire video and I’ve also driven on this entire freeway since I’ve moved to The Woodlands two years ago and I’ve been driving on it before that YOU ROCK JIM

[@Freewayjim]

Cool, thank you!

[@victorgonzalez9294]

Hey Jim! This video is my favorite so far! The soundtrack was fantastic and the highways and history going through Houston were really great! Awesome job!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much, I'm glad you like it!

[@josephgensheimer7997]

I live at the university of Houston, and I’ve lived in Houston my whole life... idk why I watched the vid, but interesting facts Jim

[@TexMexTraveler]

The I-45 expansion has been approved and is now $8 billion and includes realigning I-45 in downtown to the east with I-69 and I-10 and then from downtown all the way up to Beltway 8, with part of it underground with greenspace overhead for local communities, then coming aboveground north of the 610 loop. The maximum width will be 24 lanes at key locations.

[@Freewayjim]

Excellent, thanks for the update, yeah I've seen the plans, looks pretty awesome.

[@LauraKrause-d8i]

Hey Jim ! Still Love the vids. I’m Not in Houston anymore so when I get homesick I just watch these

[@Freewayjim]

Awesome, thank you for watching!

[@i-35vagabond56]

I like the frontage roads along side the interstates in Texas. Texas has the best highways in the country.

[@gainpenny9371]

You are right 👍

[@thrasherx2k1]

Not a fan of them personally.

[@yxuri_life4208]

I’m from Texas, I live in Texas, Texas is life

[@iansorola5285]

You’re telling me frontage roads don’t exist outside of Texas???

[@BrianWebb0222]

Ian Sorola not exactly how they’re designed there. I’m from California and I’m a fan of how Texas utilizes frontage roads like this. The only other place I’ve seen anything similar has been in Oklahoma City along I-240. Here, each street just has its own “exit” and there are streets that parallel the highways but you can’t get on and off like this sadly

[@HeartsGurl]

Houston and Los Angeles are my favorite cities

[@houstontexas8738]

Mind too

[@Red-pt6rs]

What u like about LA?

[@joehammond2586]

Have to watch this when I get homesick. Love it. Miss it.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you for watching!

[@MakaveliThaDon444]

Me too I love my hometown of Houston Texas 😍

[@Mahoot]

Amazing video, holy gosh this has to be your best season every video is getting better than the last, this will definitely be one of your videos that I keep revisiting from time to time, I love how the first half shows the some of the best urban freeways and the second half shows some of the best industrial freeways. I may be from Dallas but I absolutely love Houston freeways, maybe even slightly more than Dallas

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it and the season so far.

[@Freewayjim]

@@AQLV Thank you for the kind comment Alex, I appreciate it very much!

[@neiandresamuels5428]

Dallas freeways better

[@trulylondon1]

​@@neiandresamuels5428 Ahhhh, I don't know about that one since DFW and Houston freeways are nothing to mess with. It's a really hard one to begin with.

[@StonemanRocks]

@@neiandresamuels5428 what defines better in your mind? Better concrete or idunno guardrails?

[@vickymizell2443]

As a 65 yr old Native Houstonian I watched every freeway being built. Excellent cruising tunes!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much!

[@ssjwes]

Imagine the future, kids will be able to SEE this stuff change in real time even the landscape before they were born. We only have our memories.

[@geraldburns7759]

Love the view of the city from the 610 bridge, going across the ship channel. You see the whole city. Downtown, med center, and the uptown galleria area all in one shot. Great video. Keep up the good work.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@larkt6693]

ThAt Katy freeway is the smoothest freeway ever. Ur car just glides across it...

[@Freewayjim]

This is true!

[@zachmatt3]

The part that is so smooth is also extremely quiet. I don't know how they did it, but it's like no other freeway I've traveled on.

[@Grtruckingdemolitionllc]

Exactly. I love it live right off memorial city mall.

[@larkt6693]

I own a Lexus IS .. so I don’t know if this applies too every vehicle that travels on it lol.. but I know the ride over that freeway is like eerily smooth..!!!!!!

[@Grtruckingdemolitionllc]

Lark T it does I drive 18 wheelers and the drive is smooth to even fully loaded

[@willubhave5]

Houston is the next Dubai...with its construction of high rises and highways...I give it 5yrs Houston will be the 3rd Largest city in America 👍

[@arodgefan589]

Love it! I loved driving around the state of Texas, truly amazing. You can never predict Houston's weather though lol.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you and that is true!

[@dirtmcgirt2036]

It will definitely rain

[@ILoveQazaqstan]

As you can see, February 2021 brings great evidence to your claim.

[@arodgefan589]

@@ILoveQazaqstan I was down there for that, it sucked.

[@Mikeokc]

Love Houston. Great Drive. Hope you got to see Galveston.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you, I've never been to Galveston but would really like to see it someday.

[@Dexeria]

@@Freewayjim Jim K. Georges can you do the Beltway 8 video?

[@Freewayjim]

@@Dexeria I probably won't.

[@Wolfeman2000]

For me being a Houston native. Thank you for showing are good side of the traffic. And I could go as far as saying showing Houston proud.

[@Freewayjim]

I enjoy driving there, it's a great Roadgeek city.

[@Wolfeman2000]

@@Freewayjim Driving in and around Houston can be fun at times. I think since it's my home town and still live here I do take thing forgranted.

[@trulylondon1]

@@Freewayjim It definitely is especially I-610 West Loop/South Loop.

[@frankpousson7814]

I didn’t know S.H. 146 @ S.H. 225 was the first stack interchange in Texas. I’ve been watching you videos for years, and they never fail to disappoint. Awesome Work!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much!

[@markostner]

Jim, loved the long video, and especially the covers of those great old singles from back in the day! I like how you feature songs by artists from the area you're covering.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much, Mark!

[@Harold81]

This was good. When you first announced you would be going through Houston in the summer, I instantly thought of the construction going on. But this wasn't so bad. I wish you could have gone further west on the Katy freeway but I see you guys were headed east. Thanks for the video, we all really appreciate it.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you for watching and the comment, in Video 15-09 we did go alot further west on the Katy Freeway.

[@wildwoodandonyx]

This retired OTR driver does not miss Houston and the traffic. Thanks for posting this so anytime I think about going back, I can get REAL.

[@Freewayjim]

LOL, Thank you for watching!

[@wildwoodandonyx]

Freewayjim - Have you ever used “Desert Plains” by Judas Priest in your videos? In my opinion, it’s one of the best driving songs, especially listening while traveling through Nevada...

[@Freewayjim]

@@wildwoodandonyx I have not used it yet, but I am not opposed to it at some point. Only reason I haven't is that I felt I had better options.

[@michaelpost9253]

Lived in Houston for a year and a half. Moved in January to Dallas. Interesting to see all the work they've done on 610. Even before construction it was always congested.

[@mrkennya80]

Go back to Houston it’s too crowded in Dallas

[@damonhynes]

Love this vid! Fred Hartman is the prettiest bridge, but the Beltway 8 one over the Ship Channel is badass. Next trip to Houston (and knowing you, there'll be at least *one* more next time!), hit that bridge and the nearby Washburn Tunnel under the Ship Channel. Me and my daughter were in town seven years ago this week, RUSH concert and Galveston and the Goose Creek Oil Field, where "Hellfighters" was filmed. I absolutely love Houston!

[@Freewayjim]

Thanks for the tip, glad you enjoyed the video.

[@jimcrovatt6988]

I lived in Houston back in the 80's. The Southwest Freeway (US59) was a perpetual parking lot twice a day; and the Hartman Bridge replaced the old Baytown tunnel that was shut down several times a week because some tractor-trailer would always get stuck inside. Ah....memories!

[@crazydoc0812]

Can confirm that the Southwest Freeway is still a perpetual parking lot at least twice a day. There's now construction on it all the way to the Fort Bend-Wharton County line.

[@gainpenny9371]

Bravo Jim, excellent job ! Enjoy watching your drive over the familiar to me routes.

[@hitechredneck6366]

Welcome to Houston, Freewayjim! Always enjoy your videos, especially ones of my new adopted hometown. When I first moved to town three years ago, I drove the North Freeway (I-45) between The Woodlands and the Medical Center everyday. Not a bad trip, but I had to be on the road no later than 4:45 AM, then, leave the office no later than 3:30PM. Miss those time windows and there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth. Live in Katy now, just a few minutes from the "Katy Not-So-Expressway". When I was working over in The Galleria/West Loop, I had to be pulling out of my driveway at 5 AM, skip lunch, and be on the road back to Katy by 2:45 PM. That's only a distance of about 15 miles, but again, if I missed those windows...ugh. Bad news. One other example from the stacks you mention a couple of times - just south of the Sam Houston Tollway stack at I-10 is the Westchase District. I periodically travel to the office over there. If I leave the house at 9 AM, I can be in the office parking lot by 9:25 AM. Not bad - 25 minutes from Katy to Westchase. However, if I try head back home at 5, I'm looking at 90 minutes, easy. If there's an accident - 2 hours, easy. One doesn't load up the Houston Transtar mobile app at their own peril! Interestingly, you'd think that the widest freeway in the world would be nice and smooth at rush hour. Nope. At the section you noted as 29 lanes (including frontage), that particular area is stop and go, but mostly stop. It gets congested at predictable spots: I-10 and Memorial City/Sam Houston Tollway, Dairy Ashford, Eldridge, HW6, then the Grand Parkway. It's a sea of brake lights, and even the two outbound toll/HOV lanes back up and become stop/go at Dairy Ashford on west - the place about where you did a U-turn on the video to head back towards downtown there in the Energy Corridor. Speaking of tolls, if I was lucky enough to hit the NW Transit Center/Katy Tollway entrance transponder before 3:00 PM, it was only $1 out to Katy. If you miss the 3 PM cutoff, your outbound trip to Katy just went to $7. Cheap by many other cities' standards, but still - a 700% markup made me want to get on the road ASAP. Until just recently, I commuted to The Woodlands from Katy via the Grand Parkway everyday. Nice ride, but somewhat expensive. I'm was one of the Harris County Toll Road Authority's best customers at $250/month. That didn't include gas for an 80 mile round trip. Cut my urban driving teeth on the mean streets of Chicago, so when I moved down here, it wasn't a huge shock. However, watching your video as a rider instead of a driver sure changes the perspective for some reason. Excellent video, and thanks for putting so much work into a video that features an area near and dear to my heart - I love Houston, and I love Texas. As the old saying goes, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as quick as I could!"...or something like that. The South, its people, and hospitality can't be matched ANYWHERE else. Thanks again for highlighting the roadgeek aspects of this part of the country!

[@FireboltPrime]

Proud to call you my neighbor, h town born and raised here

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you for the awesome comment and for watching, appreciate your insights on things Jason.

[@empresslisa6875]

Love the video. Houston is nice city. Its a big city. It have alot of constuction on the 🛣

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much!

[@412StepUp]

Construction sucks I get it. But what it means is that we are fixing and upgrading our infrastructure. So I think even with the inconvenience of construction, it is still better off in the long run.

[@thedragonofdalzell]

I see more traffic on the houston beltway than in my whole home town

[@realpumaoblivion]

I am always impressed with the Katy Freeway for how insane I-10 is headed to San Antonio with so many lanes you could get lost out there. I always enjoy the videos through Houston. And when some ZZ Top is played, you kinda know it's a Houston video.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much!

[@74Spirit1]

Thank you for this snippet of driving Houston. It was a primary subject for Texas author Larry McMurtry(location of his Oscar-winning "Terms of Endearment"). I did anticipate that the Houston he wrote about wasn't the Houston of the 2020's.

[@Freewayjim]

LOL, Probably not....he wrote an interesting book called "Roads" that is worth reading.

[@leohopkins71]

In VA the state flower is a construction barrel. But in TX it's a bridge truss.

[@sa230e]

Cheers on adding "Plowed" to the soundtrack. Sponge is a really underrated band. Rotting Pinata is one of my favourite albums.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you, glad you liked it, I thought it fit that part very well.

[@MikeAW2010]

8:42 -- Concrete And Steel ... .... That pretty much sums up Texas :D

[@TsxLive]

Awesome job! I love the animations.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much!

[@nomaderic]

I'm glad you chose to show alot of the different freeways, there are so many miles of freeway and Houston is so sprawled out. I'm sure you are used to that being in Atlanta. I drive every day in this city and always find a new cool route to drive I stay on the west side and going east down Westheimer you can see that William's tower from miles away towering in the distance. Got to visit Buckees too. We take pride in that in Texas. Best store there is lol

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you, I always enjoy my time driving around in Texas, especially the cities.

[@mikemalone9896]

You are a very courteous driver. I hav never seen so little traffic as I saw in your video. I live in rural East Texas, 3 hour northeast of Houston and really dont like to drive there. Getting to the Woodlands is not so bad, but 242 is growing and will soon be really bad. Enjoyed your video, the musi. Was very good. Thanks for sharing.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much Mike, glad you enjoyed it.

[@cjs121675]

Nice ride through Houston- I have always wanted to check out Buc-ee's as well myself as I have heard nothing but good things about them! I have really enjoyed your trip this year and look forward to seeing your next video and I am sure it will be great! Also enjoy your commentary at the end of the videos!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much!

[@leroyybrown]

I enjoyed the oil refineries in the latter part with a stormy sky as the backdrop. Actually most freeway footage I've seen of Houston features an almost tropical looking sky. In fact Houston kinda reminds me of Bangkok, they're both low lying on a gulf, they both flood, have canals or bayous.

[@palmsofdestin1]

Yeah Houston pretty much is Bangkok

[@mikecamcorder3419]

They also like there frontage roads next to the big freeway in the suburbs of Bangkok. There a lot of good elevated freeways and on ramps in Bangkok as well. Only thing Houston needs is and elevated metro and few more millions of people to compare.

[@edkollin]

As somebody from the Northeast what stands out to me is how sprawling Dallas and Houston are both the cities and the metro areas.

[@Freewayjim]

Atlanta is similar in that fashion.

[@markross882]

with room to grow.

[@neiandresamuels5428]

Yep In the coming years DFW will reach over 11Million+ residents and Houston with 10Million+

[@214dude2]

Texas cities didn’t really start growing until the age of the automobile. Cities in the Northeast were well established before cars. That changes the way a city is developed...

[@PopLightBrown]

Houston Freeways: I have the e-book! A great read indeed. Nice video you put together. I like the longer videos myself.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much, you'll love the finale in two weeks then, it's 9-10 minutes longer than this.

[@thomasmurphy3021]

@@Freewayjim I have been to Houston in July 2019 but the airport named IAH. It's a huge airport and busiest in texas. I had good BBQ but airport food is expensive.

[@PopLightBrown]

@@Freewayjim Can't wait!

[@stevebowser7248]

Music is perfect!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@StonemanRocks]

ive never watched a video where i could feel the gforce before!

[@derekpullum]

I know I'm late watching this video. But I enjoyed it. I like Houston even though I haven't been there. I hope I get to visit Houston, Tx one day. I live about 25 minutes from Buc-ee's here in Alabama. It is "Huge". I was on my way to Florida a few months ago. It was a line of vehicles exiting the Interstate/Freeway trying to get into Buc-ee's. I was like "Wow". If you're going to the beach. You can definitely stop by on your way.

[@Freewayjim]

Better late than never, thank you!

[@nathancook1404]

I'd once saw a PBS Transportation Documenty that talk about Texa's Freeways that talks about a lot of people living in the state Texas and the demands for more roads growing mostly Freeways and I thought Los Angelas was the most demanding but Texas beats them at No.1 I'd enjoyed watching you go through the Freeways and there was a lot of traffic but I see you manage to get around it. It was a good video you did and I can't wait to see the next one for next week.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you Nathan!

[@stevenbahena5956]

I live by the Katy Freeway and you bet I got excited when I saw the Memorial Hermann hospital building on Gessner! Thanks for the vid ✌!!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you for the comment and for watching!

[@trulylondon1]

The hospital is definitely a pefect place to put by a freeway since it's a face lifting hospital.

[@SaifullahRaes]

Thanks for the longer upload, it was great! The director's notes at the end were interesting too👍

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@gunn13fan]

As a resident thank you for this! Beltway 8 is now the feeder road around Houston. The Sam Houston Tollway is the main route, that being said they are wanting to expand but no where near getting the funding for it, it will be 2030 before that happens

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you for watching!

[@trulylondon1]

I mean, I don't know about expanding the freeway since the tollway/parkway will mostly be a 8 laned freeway with the EZTAG ONLY part that opened in 2011 have 6 lanes once it's 2024 thanks to the bridge that's getting rebuilt.

[@gunn13fan]

@@trulylondon1 one thing that gets me! Is they said it would be paid for by 2020...Here it is 2021 and it’s still not paid for! That’s Harris County for you!

[@danstober]

Hi Jim! A shout out to your music choices! I knew the Bus Stop song from the Hollies, but I had never heard this Dokken version. Awesome! I just bought it on iTunes. PS: This is not the first time that your freeway videos have inspired me to buy a song. Thanks for sharing!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you Daniel, that's awesome and I'm glad you heard something you liked enough to buy.

[@BajingoBoy]

Since you were traveling south on I-45, at just around 1pm, you probably saw me heading north. I make the commute from near the Woodlands to near NASA every weekday. Lucky for me, my company let's me work an odd shift, so I get to cross Houston very early in the AM, and only have to travel in the traffic once a day. Good video. I sued to get some interesting footage from my dash cam, until is gave up the ghost about a year ago.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you for the comment and for watching!

[@Mr.Shannon.456]

I enjoyed the video! First time I have been to your channel. I plan on moving to Houston this coming summer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I love road trips and have driven through 48 states. I have dash cam footage of several states, but your cam is higher quality. I plan on watching more of your videos. Of course watching videos is not the same experience as driving myself as I think you may agree, but it is the next best thing. Wyoming and Colorado are two of my favorite states to drive through.

[@christopherbuckley94]

I'm a big fan of Buc-'ees even though the standard here in NJ is Wawa! Their restrooms are like an art gallery! My other favorite Texas business is HEB supermarkets!

[@twintwo278]

I like buc'ees but the first time I saw a wawa was in orlando...I fell in love!!!!

[@maureencora1]

I Love H-Town, Texas Fall, Winters and Spring.

[@mariomario7379]

I always feel a sense of awe when taking in Houstons ginormous freeways. Just a massive system of concrete and steel.

[@thomasmurphy3021]

Do you think the Houston Texans are going to be in the super bowl in 2020? Probably not. IAH is the airport in Houston but they had good BBQ. Airport food is expensive.

[@mariomario7379]

@@thomasmurphy3021 The Texans? Not likely but anything is possible. Bush airport is nice and big but yeah it's pretty expensive. Hobby airport will save you a few dollars if you don't mind layovers.

[@SsgtTimothy]

Loved the video as always every Monday I looked forward to seeing what your have in store I already looking forward to next Monday

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much!

[@iDrew1st]

I'm glad that they're finally paying more attention I-45. The poor freeway has always been sidelined by I-10, despite the fact that its traffic can be almost as insane. I can't tell you how many times my morning classes at UH were cancelled because my professor was stuck on 45, haha

[@freedomfitness8720]

1. You have great music taste. 2. So hopeful that the expansion proposal gets passed. 3. You drive like you are 25!

[@Freewayjim]

LOL! #1 Thank you very much, #2 Me too and I would come back to film it #3 I just turned 54 but try to keep a clear view ahead when filming. Thank you for watching!

[@trulylondon1]

@@Freewayjim You is now 55 but you really drive like my Papa. Nice and smooth :)

[@Freewayjim]

@@trulylondon1 LOL Thank you, I really do enjoy driving.

[@markross882]

Driving in Houston at night is awesome, especially taking 45 South around downtown. Better than Dallas.

[@Freewayjim]

Totally agree, some of the best lit freeways in the country.

[@kiaramariesmith89]

Facts

[@neiandresamuels5428]

Of course you say better than Dallas..because you know Dallas is better. Houston is garbage Dallas nightlife better

[@FireboltPrime]

@@neiandresamuels5428 you again

[@neiandresamuels5428]

@@FireboltPrime You again

[@bmbsage]

good job Jim , looked like you had a good trip.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you, we did!

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

This drive starts in Montgomery County, TX, and boy, I-45 is very wide in that county which is cool, and the rest of the drive is within Harris County, TX as you rediscover Houston. Also, I like the freeways in the eastern portion of Harris County which is the industrial part of the county. Very unique catch there!

[@jordandalton9971]

Thanks for showing love to my city!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you, I always enjoy driving around/filming Houston.

[@MarioAndBendyPlushShow]

Nice 2019 Houston Video Jim

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@MarioAndBendyPlushShow]

@@Freewayjim Your Welcome

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

I hate to see the traffic around I-610 TX/West Loop, but I wish to see the completion of freeway construction in the West Loop and in downtown Houston. I'm glad you filmed state highways linking the ports of the Galveston Bay area.

[@chzel9039]

😊👏 nice. Woke up, saw this video, realized I only have 4 days of school.

[@danielhalpert03]

Houston Freeways 🛣

[@Lejjend832]

Wow spent alot in Houston. Thx P.S. I 45 (especially the North Freeway) is extremely congested 24/7. And the drivers r bad especially inside the belt. I hope I were prepared.

[@user-wu8ru6ck2m]

I literally avoid 610 South AT ALL COSTS 😫 the worst

[@Grtruckingdemolitionllc]

L H same I try to avoid 610 west by the galleria area, ITS ALWAYS MOVING SLOW LOL. And I’m always towing my trailers so makes it more challenging.

[@robertmoore7041]

Ugh the Galleria area 🤮

[@ThisisTechie]

Southwest*

[@twintwo278]

610 and 45, yessss!!

[@delorbb2298]

I hate 45 North heading southbound. There is always a wreck or two on it. Usually around Crosstimbers.

[@spacecash4444]

I love your videos! Great video as always!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@chicagodog3171]

Texas: We drive on loop 610 Californians: Whats a loop?

[@Freewayjim]

It's a Beltway in the Northeast :)

[@zachmatt3]

@@Freewayjim The Sam Houston Tollway in Houston is also known as Beltway 8, at least I think so.

[@opiumextract2934]

@@zachmatt3 it is, my 1st apartment was off sam houston parkway, but its commonly called beltway 8

[@1986-e3s]

Awesome!

[@kevinfilbin7688]

Houston keeps getting fatter and needing a bigger belt 😂🤣

[@vr788]

Love my city and represent it everywhere I go but I hate coming through in my 18 wheeler

[@philipjohn1338]

I don't drive big rig but i feel you. Houston has some of the worst drivers.

[@jimrutherford6867]

I love cherry sours ! Great video, my son and his family live in Cleveland TX.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much!

[@KarenJones-yk1xj]

Love this long video.

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@ttownfeen]

Super stoked about the Buc-ee’s opening in Leeds, Ala., next year! Though I heard it, like the one in Baldwin County, will be smaller than the ones in Texas.

[@wassman27]

Gotta stay true to "Everything is Bigger in Texas". For example In 2012, Buc-ee's opened its largest travel center in New Braunfels, Texas, on Interstate 35. The New Braunfels location is the largest convenience store in the world at 68,000 square feet. The store features 120 fueling positions, 83 toilets, 31 cash registers, 4 Icee machines, and 80 fountain dispensers.

[@chrizizdaman]

Excellent video! I would love to see the view coming into downtown on those elevated HOV lanes (19:20) I bet it's a spectacular view of the city.

[@Freewayjim]

Thanks, yes I'll bet it is too.

[@hitechredneck6366]

​@@Freewayjim @Chris614 For a precious few seconds, you can glean a view of downtown, the Texas Medical Center, Greenway Plaza, AIG skyscraper complex, various hi-rise apartments, Memorial City, The Galleria/Uptown, the Westchase District, and the Energy Corridor skylines in something of a panoramic view as you exit US-290E onto the Katy Freeway. The exit goes up in elevation and curves a bit to join the massive elevated exit ramp (which is really a section of a 10+ lane hot mess of freeways that include 610 and 290) that will take you either on into The Galleria, or, the I-10/Katy Freeway. It is very impressive, especially at night. There is an almost unbroken view of skyscrapers from your left (downtown) to your right (The Energy Corridor). You then have what I call the "tunnel of lights" heading west towards Katy. The freeway is extremely well lit with high mast lighting on both sides of the freeway. You see overhead mast lighting to the horizon. No one else probably notices or cares, but I think it's really cool. I've only seen this tunnel effect in one other city - Chicago - on the Stevenson Expressway. However, I honestly think Houston's version is considerably better. Our masts are those crazy tall metal monopoles with 360 degree light clusters. I think they're 157 feet in height? Not sure. Anywho, fellow roadgeek "The Solarcatcher" has a neat night video of an outbound trip on the Stevenson, so you can see what I'm referring to: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mX3FeIamfZV9Z9U In one of your previous Houston videos, you actually traveled the section of freeway I reference with the view. However, they recently "finished" the 8th wonder of the world that the massive US-290 expansion has been. In some spots, it's 10+ main-lanes wide + HOT lane, not including frontage. The area you filmed as you were heading towards Katy that morning has changed - *a lot*. That elevated exit wasn't there when you were in town that time. The thing that sucks about the whole viewing opportunity is that there's really no place to stop and snap pictures. Your wife better be quick with the camera! I just realized something...I have a DJI drone. Sounds like this might be a good use of some flight time. ;-) I'd argue that this exit on US-290 offers the most impressive view of city skyline anywhere in town because of the panorama effect. That's a potential downside for some - no hills/mountains around here like out west.

[@Freewayjim]

@@hitechredneck6366 Good points there.

[@yahirresendiz6514]

You should see the major construction in highway 288

[@mikesparks3216]

Love the video. Never done any driving in Houston area, just passing thru the airports. Do love the interchanges in TX. About the only other state I would live I LOL. Nice to see Houston freeways without the typical flooding that they always show on the news when it rains. As for Buc-ees, when I lived in San Antonio I stopped at a couple and boy were they popular, and large. Do agree with your restroom assessment. Very clean and big. Have a good day. Any places in the nation you have not traveled through at all?

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you, I've driven in all 48 states and the biggest city I have not seen is Tulsa.

[@BoratWanksta]

@@Freewayjim I didn't realize you had traveled that much! That's impressive, if Tulsa is the biggest city you hadn't visited yet.

[@EuropeanRoads]

Interesting factoid, the world's least congested cities of this size are.... Dallas and Houston, according to the TomTom Congestion Index.

[@Freewayjim]

That is interesting, had no idea.

[@juliussd5901]

By size you mean population?

[@KCWanderlust]

Sitting in the parking lot at my Son's high school, waiting for dismissal and hoping beyond hope that I had enough data on this new phone to watch the video start to finish... I didn't. ("Data ain't cheap"). 😆... This video is AMAZING. So much so that I'm all-of-a-sudden considering making a change to 12-12-6 for the Summer to include Houston. A bit out of the way for us, but it'll be well worth it!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you VERY much, when was the last time you've been to Houston? if it's been a while you may not recognize much, which is good and worth the excursion.

[@KCWanderlust]

@@Freewayjim I think it was about '90 or '91... Millions of eons ago in road geek time. 😮

[@Freewayjim]

@@KCWanderlust Oh yeah, you gotta see it now, hope you can get there.

[@jessdatip4152]

As a houstonian, never in a million years did I think I would spend half an hour watching a video of someone driving on Houston freeways LOL. I actually enjoyed it and learned a few things from it. I also enjoyed the music and I'm sure you'll get people asking why you didn't play this song or that song. So I'll throw my two cents in for songs I would've liked. 24 hours Marshall Tucker Band Texas by Charlie Daniels Hello Texas Jimmy Buffett Midnight Special CCR PS I've traveled many highways across this land and Buc-ee's is hands down the best. The bar has been raised when it comes to rest stop restrooms and Buc-ee's is the new standard. ABC World News even did a story on it. It's on KZbin if you want to see it

[@Freewayjim]

I have several other Houston videos on here from past trips, the ones from 2015 are really good IMO. As for the music I have to take in consideration things like timing, tempo, mood and such, to me it's just not as simple as throwing songs out there, some might work, some not, some might in other places, I have a feel for what I want when I sit down to start the editing process.

[@jessdatip4152]

@@Freewayjim Thanks for the response. I completely understand, after all, they are your videos. The songs I mentioned either have Houston or Texas in the lyrics, but I get it. Not everyone would be a fan of those tunes. Thanks for making the vids and keep em coming.

[@Freewayjim]

@@jessdatip4152 Sure thing and thanks, I do like to use local artists and songs referencing the area when it makes sense but it has to work with what I'm trying to do with the video overall, sometimes it takes hours just to get the soundtrack the way I want it.

[@stevenbahena5956]

Dude I'm from California and even I myself am surprised I watched all of it. Houston has always had a special place in my heart. I lived here plenty of times and have been here for almost 2 years. Went to high school here and sure have missed it ❤

[@Freewayjim]

@@stevenbahena5956 Thank you for watching!

[@rodrodriguez7032]

Lots of oil companies engineer firms in the Galleria area along with 5-star hotels and restaurants in the area. At night along 610 in either direction, it's bumper to bumper with red lights and headlights a sight to see indeed.

[@chuck32504]

For those saying INDIA could be a superpower in the press I laugh!! INDIA this is what a superpower looks like - Take a gander at Texas FREEWAYS the best in the world. Marvel in its size/ length and stack interchanges.

[@Ndizzyinthehizzy]

That jackass in the Tahoe from 9:22 to 9:49 with his blinker on. One of my biggest pet peeves in driving. That guy in the Tesla was giving him half the State of Texas to move over, but nope, kept on driving like nothing happened.

[@CheeseMasterSports]

Glad you didn't have to battle traffic that was too terrible (by Houston standards). Another excellent production, and give me a holler next time you're in my neck of the woods :)

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you very much!

[@bullwinkle2380]

Can you do Memorial Drive from Downtown Houston all the way to Barker Damn??????????

[@regan8372]

I’m from Sugar Land (suburb of Houston). I’m going to add my lil 2 cents. 1. You got hella gas money because I would NEVER drive around like that lmao. Houston traffic makes me sick. 2. Growing up in Houston I never knew which part was downtown. Houston has so many skyscrapers in clumps but its beautiful. 3. It wasn’t until I went to college in Beaumont, TX when I realized besides Beaumont, Houston and most of it’s suburbs are closer to Louisiana than the next largest city, which is Austin. And you can tell... Houston and Beaumont are an extension of Louisiana in many aspects. Anyway this video is badass and I applaud you for braving through this traffic. Hope to see more!

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you for watching and the comment, as far as the gas money, this was part of a cross-country trip from Atlanta to California and back (Starting at Video 19-07) so the thought of gas money went out the window a long time ago :)

[@regan8372]

Freewayjim ahhhh I see lol!

[@ChrisTrinh95]

This video is wonderful in a Texas way. Texas is bigger than everything else in America. 🇺🇸🦅🙏🏼🛣❤️💪🏼

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@anitadriver461]

Great video. I was born and raised in Houston and I love it here. One complaint is you didn’t get any of my area which is the Gulf Freeway. I live in Clear Lake. Halfway between Houston and Galveston. I was bummed you missed that area.

[@lederrickmoye1725]

Anita Driver same lol

[@Freewayjim]

Unfortunately, I did not have time to get everything, traffic was starting to get thick and I had to head east.

[@Andy-uz7ct]

Very impressive trip around Houston

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you!

[@robertsled4529]

I saw your video traveling through the city of Albany, in New York State's capital city, i was there too!

[@AdrianoSilva-kz3lq]

Good Morning! Jim.

[@Freewayjim]

Good Morning.

[@footprintsinamericanhistory]

I was just curious. You talked about going to Buc-ee's in this video. Now that they have two in Georgia (one is in Warner Robins), did you ever make it back to get some more cherry sours?

[@Freewayjim]

Yes indeed, several times at the one in Calhoun, GA.

[@deannawoody9621]

I enjoy the music riding with you 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

[@MarsNeedsGuitars1]

You had me at Sugarloaf.

[@geraldmarcano2514]

Amazing vídeo, very informative, I live in the Katy area off I-10. Only thing I didn't like was your breaking, or maybe I'm just too careful

[@Freewayjim]

The braking looks more dramatic than it really was with the footage sped up around 4x.

[@yxuri_life4208]

I really love the upgrade

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you

[@elizabethorsillo7187]

I recognize the Ronnie Laws song...you used it in one of your Pittsburgh videos (don’t remember which one). I also enjoyed hearing ZZ Top...how appropriate!

[@Freewayjim]

Good ear on your part, yes and thank you!

[@olschoolmonieluv6187]

I enjoyed the long vid! I live in Louisiana and you're lucky you didn't get stuck on the atchafalaya basin because alot of accidents happen on that bridge...ppl have to check the app to make sure the coast is clear 😀

[@Freewayjim]

Thank you, getting stuck in Lake Charles was no fun, but yes it was smooth sailing through the basin.

[@danielhalpert03]

Thank You Jim

[@Freewayjim]

Thank YOU for watching!

[@crazeyjoe]

I am surprised that no King's X tunes were played being that are from Houston. Great vid!

[@Freewayjim]

Thanks, I don't have any of their songs.