IH 610

[@ruckusbeblack]

I’m from Houston and 610 DOES have control cities but 59/69 has been under construction so long they haven’t put the original signs that show 610 south for bellaire. There’s also a “610 west Pearland/610 East Pasadena” on the 45 interchange. Good video Todd

[@olympianproduct]

Speak for yourself, I love the Texas style ramps and frontage roads, they’ve helped me out a lot when the freeway is jammed up.

[@ruckusbeblack]

As a Houstonian I agree. I disagree with him on that, feeders are LIFESAVERS sometimes lol. Salute from east downtown!

[@sirharry13]

Re: The 0 milepost being at TX 288 instead of at I-10: It is common practice for the 0 milepost on interstate beltways to be at the 6 o'clock position, or as close as possible to said position, regardless of whether or not that junction is with the parent interstate. I-270 in Columbus has its 0 milepost at the southern junction with I-71. I-410 in San Antonio has its 0 milepost at the southern junction with I-35, although that's more like the 7 o'clock position. It probably would make better sense for the 0 milepost to be at the southern I-45 junction, but in this case, I see why the TX 288 junction is the 0 milepost.

[@txmeats]

10:29 That's Williams Tower. It's the 4th tallest building in Texas and apparently it's the tallest building not located in a central business district. My sister used to work in there.

[@jakenoble842]

For when you’re on Colfax Ave in your US40 video: There’s this little taco stand at Colfax and Xavier called El Consome de Morelos. Sooooooo damn good!

[@ControlCityFreak]

Thanks, you got it!

[@SimUmpSGC]

The signs you mention at 0:56 aren't for distance. They're for letting you know how long until that interchange. Houston Transtar uses them to help people gauge traffic around our freeways.

[@Webbedtrout]

The reason why you see odd naming for 610 is that its a roughly square loop so 610 South, West, North, and East regard what quadrant the highway is in relative to downtown.

[@TJusnow]

@3:26 there’s no control cities because the entire loop is inside Houston(with the exception of Bellaire), there’s no need for it.

[@ControlCityFreak]

It's always useful to know where the road can take you, if not directly than by intersecting 2 digit routes.

[@chigozieezejiofor977]

Can you do I-295 From National Harbor To Baltimore?

[@315Mikey]

IH-610 isn't really a convenient bypass for any major city on the major freeways. Aside from rush hour (which is 5a-9a & 4p-7p), you're better off going directly to the next major freeway for your destination of choice (an exception could be made for any traffic going from Beaumont to Dallas taking Loop 610 to save 3 or 4 minutes). Loop 610 is mostly for people trying to get from home to work & vice-versa.

[@sirharry13]

8:23...you could tell that 45 shield was a slap-on replacement

[@fldon2306]

Love the Fireworks!! Was in Houston three days ago!! Took IH-610 from 10 (East side) to US-290 exit, Northwest! The 610 inner loop just east of IH-45 (north side) was shut down for “something” (accident?) on the 16th; there were police cars six-abreast closing all lanes on the loop! So many flashing lights so close to Christmas!! Can’t wait til the 610 & 30 interchange (east side) construction is complete And, took TX-288 for the first time down to Freeport from Houston; suburbs and ranchlands. The “H” is for Highway, and GPS’s require one to add the “H”! 610 at 69 (south side): Corpus Christi would be the way to go as they’re getting close to making it all interstate from what is US-59 there. Currently, IH-69 “pauses” in Cleveland; areas around Lufkin are up and running as IH-69 though. Thanks Todd!!

[@rngfootball759]

1:25 old Astrodome site of one of the greatest Chiefs wins ever and one of heartbreak for the Oilers. Joe Montana's last playoff win.

[@ControlCityFreak]

My dad was there! He was lucky enough to be on a business trip to Houston that week. Was our last playoff win for 22 years.

[@Darisiabgal7573]

There are several exits for Reliant Stadium. Also, I believe, after a very, very, very long wait we have the three westbound lanes now open and exit to alameda road is reopened, just make sure you are all the way right on 610S EB lane or you probably will miss it, it was during construction on the left, but this caused a shitload of accidents, so they closed it. It was not unusual during construction to see people driving the wrong way down the freeway.

[@sirharry13]

Change points for directions going clockwise from 288: S. Post Oak spur (W changes to N and S changes to E) US 290 or TC Jester (N changes to E and W changes to S) N. Kirkpatrick or N. Wayside (E changes to S and N changes to W) TX 225 (S changes to W and E changes to N)

[@edwardrasmussen3465]

When you finally get around to doing US 6 Eastern WB you may want to show these two things: the architecture of the bridges between MA 132 in Barnstable and the Cape Cod Canal. A good sample underpass would be where US 6 goes under MA 149. Also, please redo the intersection with MA 3 which heads for Plymouth, my hometown. Thanks!

[@ControlCityFreak]

Thanks, you got it! Will probably be a couple years but I’ve got it on the spreadsheet

[@chigozieezejiofor977]

Can you do 295 from DC to Baltimore?

[@ControlCityFreak]

Strong possibility if the Chiefs play the Ravens in the playoffs

[@ethanellis4662]

How I'd sign it Clockwise from 288: NRG Park (until Fannin), Uptown (until 1093), San Antonio (until I-10 W), Austin (until US 290), Dallas (until I-45 N), Beaumont (until I-10 E), Pasadena (until 225), Galveston (until I-45 S), NRG Park (repeat the cycle) Counterclockwise from 288: Galveston (until I-45 S), Pasadena (until 225), Beaumont (until I-10 E), Dallas (until I-45 N), Austin/San Antonio (co-signed until 290/10), Uptown (until 1093), NRG Park (until ALT 90 or Kirby), Galveston (repeat the cycle) I understand you'd probably rather 610 in the uptown area be signed for Galveston, but with how congested 610 is in the area now (and probably always will be), it's actually faster just to take I-10 to I-45 or to even take the Sam Houston Tollway instead. Also of note, NRG Park (aside from being home to the Texans stadium) is also home to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which is a MAJOR local event.

[@ControlCityFreak]

Oh yeah the stadium would make for a decent control, didn't think of that.

[@tylermarchand2996]

Much like I 485 in Charlotte, 610 doesn’t really extend far enough beyond Houston city limits to warrant controls for major suburban areas. Also like 485, the largest ones are further out and along the other two beltways. The closest is Pasadena, but almost everything else (Klein, Cypress, The Woodlands, Spring, Sugar Land, Galveston and Brazosport are all too far away. As a result, I think the 285 approach works best here (and spoilers if you ever do 410 in San Antonio, it’ll be the same story). As such, my list is (left to right being clockwise) TX 288 S Brazosport-I 69 S Wharton/Victoria-I 10 W San Antonio-U.S. 290 W Brenham/Austin-I 45 N Huntsville/Dallas-I 69 N Lufkin/Shreveport (the latter when I 69 is completed)-I 10 E Beaumont-I 45 S Galveston-TX 288 S Brazosport. As things currently stand for 69 N Cleveland, I currently think it’s fine for the same reason why 11 S Boulder City is fine: it’s where the Interstate currently ends, and will almost certainly be replaced with better choices as it is extended. And I can probably guess why you aren’t so hot on I 69 S Victoria, but I think it will work once that segment of I 69 is completed; it’s a decent sized city of about 65k, and it’ll be where 69 splits to serve the three biggest urban areas of the RGV. As for musical acts from the Houston area, I actually gathered a pretty healthy list. My search area consists of San Jacinto, Austin, Waller, Chambers, Liberty, Brazoria, Galveston, Montgomery, Fort Bend and Harris Counties, but outside of one Brazoria and one Galveston entry, all are from Harris County. Said list is Beyoncé, Barry White, Kenny Rogers, Selena Quintanilla, ZZTop (your intro music), Travis Scott, Chamillionaire and Megan Thee Stallion.

[@ControlCityFreak]

Geto Boys too. I actually made clips for them, and Kenny but in the end decided the ZZ Top one worked best.

[@anakinsolo719]

Will you ever redo the I-10 video? Or do the 210 in California? If so, I will have a shout-out for either.

[@ControlCityFreak]

I plan to do both but not sure exactly when

[@DomN5TCB]

The real Houston Zoo is 901 Baby. Houston City Hall!

[@kaymillerfromTX]

Yikes, this is the first video I’ve disagreed with your “the way it should be” segment. Assigning San Antonio or Dallas on 610 would confuse people and makes no sense. You also missed the 45 interchange signs that DO show Pasadena as a control city and you claimed it wasn’t.

[@ControlCityFreak]

I showed the Pasadena control sign on the 45 interchange, had fireworks and everything. It does make sense, it's to the roads that go to those places. Nearly every non-Texas metro area signs their loops like that so I don't think it would be confusing.

[@PSTXFL]

Frontage roads - When Texas builds an interstate its prohibited to landlock property owners. The preferred solution is frontage roads (feeders) vs buying the affected properties. They provide welcome relief in case of a wreck or construction. “IH” - Interstate Highway “SH” - State Highway Only makes sense, not sure why the rest of the country can’t figure it out. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@alihposord]

The whole IH-69 thing in Texas is ridiculous. The highway is mostly complete from Canada to Union City, TN, and it's pretty clear how they're going to get it down to Memphis and northern Mississippi. But then there's no trace of it in Arkansas or Louisiana or East Texas. And yet Texas is incredibly gung ho about signing it in Houston and then signing not one but three different 69s in South Texas. Really they should just be 3-digit interstates or else have 2-digit numbers in the 30s or 40s like IH-37 and IH-45 do.

[@ruckusbeblack]

Honestly I do find the 3 69 segments kinda weird…. Speaking as someone who has driven 69E and lives in Houston. Plus nobody here calls it 69 lol

[@truckercowboyed2638]

Why it's very simple the i69 close to Galveston is the main i69, I69C and w are simply extensions for central and western communities....

[@alihposord]

@@truckercowboyed2638 Would be easier then to just call them, like, I-47, I-102, and I-147.

[@ruckusbeblack]

@@truckercowboyed2638 you’re wrong. 69 doesn’t cross much less enter Galveston 💀💀 do you research.

[@ControlCityFreak]

Agree, it's ridiculous. I halfway think they shouldn't be allowed to sign 69 anywhere south of Evansville until the given "future 69" segment connects to the OG

[@andrewdevore4799]

If the Chiefs get the first round bye, can the Blue Ridge Parkway be the road for the Wild Card Round?

[@ControlCityFreak]

If the Chiefs get a bye I get a bye.

[@andrewdevore4799]

@ControlCityFreak I've always wanted to see a blue ridge parkway video, but you could use a break

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

Since most of 610 is in Houston and runs for 22 miles in Houston control cities are meaningless. Houston has three loops. Beltway 8 is the middle loop. 99 is the new outer loop that's still under construction.

[@ControlCityFreak]

I'd say 4 with the downtown loop, possibly 5 with Texas 6 but that's not all freeway. If control cities are meaningless for 610 because it's pretty much all in Houston, why don't they put control cities on 8 or 99? I'd argue it has nothing to do with 610 all being within city limits, it's just TxDOT refusing to properly sign loops.,

[@elizabethorsillo7187]

I’m a yinzer, so I’m definitely looking forward to next week’s episode!

[@jordanjones5751]

Here’s Speedboy14’s the way it should be for I-610 Houston Inner loop: San Antonio (until I-10), Austin (until US 290), Dallas (until I-45), Beaumont (until I-10), Pasadena, Galveston (until I-45), San Antonio Outer loop: Pasadena, Beaumont (until I-10), Dallas (until I-45), San Antonio (until I-10), Pasadena

[@CrystalClearWith8BE]

Have a Merry Christmas, Todd! I-610 TX is entirely in Houston except for the western portion which passes through Bellaire. Speaking of which, the West Loop is the busiest portion of I-610 TX and what I like is the interchange configuration of the 610 that connects the 10 and the 290 seeing that the ramps are that long between the 10 and 290 and are beside the mainline 610.

[@ControlCityFreak]

Thanks, merry Christmas!

[@izzo2998]

Always felt that I10 East should be New Orleans.

[@ki5aok]

0:23 - FM 521 used to be directly accessable before they did the reconstruction in that area. I don't know about everyone else, but TxDOT seriously messed up that area. 4:10 - My pet peeve: While you are correct US-90 is multiplexed with I-10, none of the signs in Houston show that. They used to, but when they replaced the button overhead signs with that reflective stuff, they dropped the US-90 shield. It makes it look like (going from west to east) that US-90 ends at an intersection with I-10 in Katy, then starts again at an interchange with I-10 and I-610 on the east side of Houston. The pet peeve annoyance ranks right up there with I-610 not starting Exit 1 at I-10, either east or west. 7:17 - The reason SH-225 West is Lawndale Avenue is that SH-225 West ends less than one mile from I-610 at Lawndale Ave. The freeway segment ends 1/2 mile from I-610. This segment is known as the Harrisburg Freeway. It was to be a freeway that started at I-610 and ran west and north until it reached US-59/I-69 around where the George R. Brown Convention Center is. That freeway ended up in a lot of legal issues due to the routing (they were going to just bulldoze poor minority neighborhoods back in the 60s and 70s, even though it was suggested that the routing could take an abandoned rail line. Eventually, it was cancelled, making this freeway the only freeway in the Houston to be officially cancelled (the others, like the Alvin Freeway SH-36), are either slowly being built (some as toll roads like SH-122, which was the placeholder for the Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road...it was there in case Fort Bend county didn't want to build the road, TxDOT would build it instead) or are on indefinite hold. 7:17 - As for the blunder thing for SH-225...it's not a blunder, it's a missing sign. The sign for 30B, which is SH-225 East to Pasadena and Deer Park, is physically missing (I had to go back to my Drive Tour Special Video after Episode 3 which was the original SH-225 video, but due to color problems [a bluish tint I couldn't correct for], I remade that video, but starting at the Fred Hartman Bridge.) That video, like Google Street View, shows a missing sign. 8:30 - The reason the I-45/I-610 interchange looks like a confusing mess on the south side of Houston is because of SH-35 also entering the area. That will be rectified somewhat when the Spur 5 project that will build a freeway from I-45 to I-610 occurs, as Spur 5 is actually Future SH-35. The overhead viaducts that hung over I-45 was actually a part of Spur 5 / Future SH-35. 8:38 - That control city on the I-610/SH-225 sign is for SH-225. 11:01 - That's the ramp from I-69/US-59 South. If you take Google Street View and look at the signage for the same ramps on I-69/US-59 North, the Bellaire control city is not present on I-610 South. TxDOT inconsistencies.

[@highway2heaven91]

Most people don’t pay attention to US Highways when they’re multiplexed with Interstates.

[@WakandaleezaRazz]

@@highway2heaven91Lmao not the case for us in Houston. Sorry. It’s 59, nobody calls it 69 💀

[@JayTheGreat_Gaming]

I-610. On my birthday that’s amazing.

[@ControlCityFreak]

Happy birthday!

[@pdawg193]

If the Chiefs get the Texans in the playoffs, you should do either Beltway 8 or SH 99.

[@highway2heaven91]

69 Northbound should be signed for Texarkana since it’s signed for Houston in Texarkana. No reciprocation in the same state is sad ☹️

[@mattweibler8445]

I eat whatburger this summer my 1 st time eating in Pensacola FL

[@NickCC23]

1/10 will be something not related to the Chiefs (they have the bye)

[@LiteBulb88]

8:56 I was today years old when I realized that when Roxette sang "It must've been love, but it's over now," they were referring to the one control city on I-610 😂.

[@ControlCityFreak]

lol

[@jasonputerbaugh9965]

My time in Houston has always been at George Bush International Airport. Big Airport lots of walking.

[@ControlCityFreak]

It's definitely the biggest airport in the US that I haven't been to

[@admirals818]

1:25 NRG Stadium

[@jordanjones5751]

On that one interchange that has a control city for I-610 for Pasadena is a Rare Texas W!!

[@TheSharkKing45]

8:46 *insert "Little old lady from Pasadena" here

[@benjaminrealy5661]

I think being almost100% in Houston, I would do control cities a little different. Of course Bellaire, but then also the airports. Since both are off this freeway, why not sign them as the control cities . It's much better than no control city with a little box above it that is hard to read which airport.

[@ControlCityFreak]

Definitely better than the current nothing.

[@marquan1976]

“They say Houston TX is the home of David Carr, but really it’s candy paint and playas sippin on barre.” - Paul Wall

[@TheSharkKing45]

If it happens, the US 59 video will be interesting

[@ControlCityFreak]

It'll happen

[@TrevørII]

Houston

[@ethanellis4662]

For the fourth year in a row, the stretch of 610 in uptown/galleria between I-10 and I-69 has been named the most congested stretch of freeway in Texas

[@ControlCityFreak]

Not too surprising from looking at this stretch making this video, but I do feel like I-35 has got to be demanding a recount.

[@ethanellis4662]

@ I-35 between US 290 and SH 71 in Austin took third. Woodall Rogers freeway took second.

[@williamisenberger1073]

Having driven 610 numerous times, you could have clean driving until you hit 45, then traffic will invariably hit a complete stop. Same using the toll way outer loops

[@benjaminchandler7919]

I agree that 69 North should be signed for Texarkana

[@Htwn4]

Exit 4B is my exit