Katy Freeway to get 2 more mainlanes in west Houston

Elissa Rivas Image
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Katy Freeway to get more lanes in west Houston
The Katy Freeway is slated to get two additional mainlanes as part of a restriping project.

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- As part of a TxDOT restriping project, I-10 will get an additional mainline in each direction through a portion of west Houston.

Byron Meyer runs Sam's Deli Diner right off the Katy Freeway and welcomes any improvement to the daily traffic jam.

"You go from about four lanes, it's slow and bottles up then you get to Highway 6 and it opens back up. So if they can fix that section right through here, I think it will be a lot better," said Meyer.

That's exactly what TxDOT plans to do. Work crews will add a mainlane, in both directions, on I-10 from Beltway 8 to west of State Highway 6 by restriping the existing space.

Andrea French, of the Transportation Advocacy Group, says there are no more big expansion plans or rail plans for the Katy Freeway. French says with the majority of Houston commuters choosing to travel by car, it's a challenge.

"People are already paying a lot in gas, already paying a lot in tolls, and so while affordability is important when we look at transit and commuter rail, I think it's the reliability factor, to me that is the main reason people are still getting in their cars," said French.

That brings us back to drivers like Herbert Simmons: "At the moment I just got a new car, so I don't mind driving myself around."

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