W. Beltway southbound reopened after power lines go down
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The southbound main lanes of the West Sam Houston Tollway in northwest Harris County are open again after downed power lines prompted an emergency closure.
Harris County Toll Road Authority first mentioned the closure at 3:32 p.m. Wednesday on its Twitter account.
"Southbound/westbound traffic is being diverted to the frontage road. Please use caution in the area and expect delays," HCTRA tweeted.
Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman provided a ground-level picture of the wiring, adding that CenterPoint Energy crews were on the way.
"Constable Deputies are working a traffic hazard, power lines down, in the 10000 block of W. Sam Houston Tollway and Fallbrook. South bound main lanes before West Road are currently shut down by emergency crews," Herman tweeted.
CenterPoint Energy offered information on what happened to bring those live wires down. This wrote in a statement:
CenterPoint Energy is responding to a down distribution power line on Beltway 8, which was caused by a crane unrelated to the company's operations doing work in the area. We are working with first responders to make the area safe. Our crews are working as safely and quickly as possible to clear the highway and restore service to the customers who have been impacted. We expect our work to be completed by approximately 7 p.m., at which time the impacted part of Beltway 8 should be safe to reopen.
The roadways were open by 6 p.m.
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