Highway 59 embankment failure causing more traffic than usual

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Drivers are used to the backup heading outbound on the Southwest Freeway near the Grand Parkway, because TxDOT is widening the freeway.

However, drivers have noticed this week the backup is much worse than usual.

"Big time! It's way crazier than usual," said Victor Sun of Wake and Fry Donuts on Williams Way.

The business sits next to the spot where TxDOT ran into a huge problem on Monday as construction crews were excavating dirt.

"The lack of dirt and recent heavy rains caused pressure to build up and the embankment to fail," said Deidrea George, a spokesperson for TxDOT.

It sparked the need for an emergency repair, squeezing the already construction-crowded highway from two lanes down to just one.

This also happened in April of last year on the Highway 290 construction project, when TxDOT said heavy rain also made this embankment vulnerable.

On the Southwest Freeway, construction crews are working day and night to make the repair as quickly as possible.

"A lot of people have been stopping by to use our restrooms, because they've been stuck in traffic so long, so we have a lot of people stopping by, and trying out some donuts," said Sun, who's keeping his sense of humor about the situation.

He's hoping even if the restroom is the reason drivers have to stop, they'll agree to also try some of the Jalapeno Boudain kolaches he so highly recommends.

"We'll be here, and we'll just try to stick through it," said Sun.

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