Commuters face traffic snarl with closure of southbound W. Beltway 8

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- There's a good news, bad news scenario for motorists who regularly use West Beltway 8, which was covered in water during Harvey and deemed impassible for nearly two weeks.

The northbound lanes of the Beltway are open for drivers, taking the pressure off of the Westpark Tollway and the Southwest Freeway during the morning commute.

RELATED: Northbound lanes of W. Beltway 8 open, southbound lanes still closed

The setback after all of the water was pumped from the Beltway is the continued closure of the southbound lanes. Extensive damage left behind by the floodwaters is forcing the traffic shut down on those lanes.

The Toll Road Authorities and Texas Department of Transportation demolished 200 yards of concrete that make up three moving lanes of traffic on the southbound side.

A sinkhole opened up underneath, causing the lanes to buckle.

While there is an improvement with having half of the Beltway moving, it still means long rides to work or home coming the other way.

Engineers are still trying to figure out how long the southbound lanes will be closed. One estimation from officials puts the closure to at least another week.

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