Editing Interstate 45 (section)

===Gulf Freeway (Houston to Galveston)===
{{Update|section|date=April 2020}}
The [[Galveston–Houston Electric Railway]] began operating an [[interurban]] between those cities on December 5, 1911, and last ran on October 31, 1936, though the [[Houston Electric Company]], operator of Houston's city transit system, continued to run trains on the portion between Downtown and [[Park Place, Houston|Park Place]]. A proposal for a "superhighway" between the cities was first made in 1930, and Houston Mayor [[Oscar F. Holcombe]] began to work toward it later that decade. He announced an agreement with the Houston Electric Company on April 12, 1940, through which the company could convert its four remaining lines to [[bus]]ses in exchange for the [[Right-of-way (property access)|right-of-way]] used by the Park Place line. This line was last used on June 9, 1940, the last day of streetcar service in Houston;<ref name=HF4>{{cite book |last = Slotboom |first = Erik |title = Houston Freeways: A Historical and Visual Journey |year = 2003 |publisher = Oscar F. "Erik" Slotboom |isbn = 0-9741605-3-9 |url = http://www.houstonfreeways.com/ |chapter = Chapter 4: The Spokes |access-date = September 11, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060906040202/http://www.houstonfreeways.com/ |archive-date = September 6, 2006 |url-status = live }}{{sps|date=April 2020}}</ref> the replacement is still operated by the [[Houston Metro]] as the 40 along Telephone Road.

Before the new highway was built, [[U.S. Route 75 in Texas|US&nbsp;75]] followed Galveston Road (now mostly [[Texas State Highway 3|SH&nbsp;3]]), Broadway Street, and Harrisburg Boulevard into Downtown. [[Texas State Highway 225|SH&nbsp;225]] carried traffic from [[La Porte, Texas|La Porte]] along La Porte Road to US&nbsp;75 in [[Harrisburg, Houston|Harrisburg]], and [[Texas State Highway 35|SH&nbsp;35]] connected [[Alvin, Texas|Alvin]] with Downtown along Telephone Road and Leeland Street<!--earlier maps show Polk Street, but a 1939 TXDOT map confirms Leeland-->.{{cn|date=October 2024}} Plans made in October 1943, when the [[Texas Transportation Commission]] signed an agreement with Houston and [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]], referred to the new bypass as a relocation of US&nbsp;75. Drawings were released by the state on January 31, 1946, and included almost continuous [[frontage road]]s, broken only at railroad crossings.<ref name=HF4/> Although the [[freeway]] ended at Live Oak Street, a so-called "four-street distribution system"<ref>{{cite book |author = [[Chamber of Commerce of the United States]] |title = Business Action for Better Cities |year = 1952 |publisher = Chamber of Commerce of the United States |page = 66 }}</ref> of four [[one-way street]]s, [[Signal timing|timed]] for {{convert|30|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, carried traffic to Main Street.<ref>{{cite book |author = American Association of State Highway Officials |title = Proceedings: Convention Group Meetings, Papers and Discussions |location = Kansas City, Missouri |year = 1952 |publisher = American Association of State Highway Officials }}</ref> Initially, the two southwestern streets—Pierce Street and Calhoun Avenue (now St. Joseph Parkway)—carried traffic toward the freeway, and the other two—Jefferson and Pease streets—carried exiting traffic;<ref>{{cite web |publisher = Texas Department of Transportation archive library |url = http://www.texasfreeway.com/houston/historic/photos/images/gulf_freeway_1953.jpg |title = Aerial View of the Downtown End of the Gulf Freeway |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927072343/http://www.texasfreeway.com/houston/historic/photos/images/gulf_freeway_1953.jpg |archive-date = September 27, 2007 |year = 1953 }}{{full citation needed|date=April 2020}}</ref> once the freeway was completed far enough to allow US&nbsp;75 to be marked along it, Pease and Pierce streets carried that highway to Fannin Street.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

The first freeway dedication in the state took place at 7:00&nbsp;pm on September 30, 1948, at the overpass over Calhoun Road by the [[University of Houston]]. The roadway between Downtown and Telephone Road<!--was SH 35 moved to the freeway?--> was opened to traffic after speeches but lacked an official name, being called the "Interurban Expressway", after the rail line that it replaced, by the press. Mayor Holcombe quickly started a contest to assign a name, and the city chose the winning entry on December 17, 1948. Sara Yancy of [[Houston Heights]] won $100 (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|100|1948}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US}}) for her submission of "Gulf Freeway", named for the [[Gulf of Mexico]] that the highway would reach when completed. The freeway was extended to Griggs Road in February 1951 and Reveille Street (onto which SH&nbsp;35 was realigned) in July 1951 and was completed to the [[Galveston Causeway]] on August 2, 1952, with a ceremony on the bridge over [[Farm to Market Road 517|FM&nbsp;517]] near [[Dickinson, Texas|Dickinson]]. However, beyond Reveille Street, the road was not built to [[freeway]] standards, with 32 [[at-grade intersection]]s, though no [[traffic signal]]s. The highway curved away from the old interurban right-of-way near Monroe Road, about where the Park Place streetcar line had ended. In December 1952, a short spur, now part of [[Interstate 610 (Texas)|I-610]], was opened to connect with SH&nbsp;225.<ref name=HF5>{{cite book |last = Slotboom |first = Erik |title = Houston Freeways: A Historical and Visual Journey |year = 2003 |publisher = Oscar F. "Erik" Slotboom |isbn = 0-9741605-3-9 |url = http://www.houstonfreeways.com/ |chapter = Chapter 5: The Loops |access-date = September 11, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060906040202/http://www.houstonfreeways.com/ |archive-date = September 6, 2006 |url-status = live }}{{sps|date=April 2020}}</ref> A three-way split in the northwest part of Park Place, near where [[Gulfgate Shopping Center]] opened in 1956, carried nonstop traffic to and from SH&nbsp;35 and SH&nbsp;225.<ref name=HF4/><ref>{{cite web |publisher = Texas Department of Transportation Archive Library |url = http://www.texasfreeway.com/houston/historic/photos/images/i45_i610s_undated.jpg |title = Aerial View of the Gulfgate Shopping Center |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927072259/http://www.texasfreeway.com/houston/historic/photos/images/i45_i610s_undated.jpg |archive-date = September 27, 2007 |date = c. 1960s }}</ref><ref name=NBI/> This split was also the location of a lane drop; the roadway carried six lanes (three in each direction) between Houston and the interchange and four beyond to Galveston. After the new US&nbsp;75 was completed, the old road between Downtown and [[South Houston, Texas|South Houston]] was dropped from the state highway system, while the remainder became SH&nbsp;3, connecting to the Gulf Freeway via Winkler Drive, effective August 20, 1952.<ref name=HDF-SH-3>{{TxDOT|SH|3|link=no}}</ref>

The first major change was made in preparation for the North Freeway connection, when the directions of Calhoun Avenue and Jefferson Street were swapped so that they would alternate. A bridge, dated 1954, was built to carry traffic from Jefferson Street over traffic to Jefferson Street,<ref name=NBI/> and US&nbsp;75 was moved to Calhoun Avenue northbound,<ref name=map-1955>{{cite map |author = [[General Drafting Company]] |url = http://www.texasfreeway.com/houston/historic/road_maps/images/1955_houston_humble_highres.jpg |title = Houston |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927072241/http://www.texasfreeway.com/houston/historic/road_maps/images/1955_houston_humble_highres.jpg |archive-date = September 27, 2007 |year = 1955 |publisher = [[Humble Oil]] }}</ref> soon crossing downtown on the [[one-way pair]] of Calhoun Avenue and Pierce Street to the new North Freeway.<ref name=map-1958>{{cite map |author = General Drafting Company |url = http://www.texasfreeway.com/houston/historic/road_maps/images/1958_houston_humble_highres.jpg |title = Houston |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092744/http://www.texasfreeway.com/houston/historic/road_maps/images/1958_houston_humble_highres.jpg |archive-date = September 29, 2007  |year = 1958 |publisher = Humble Oil }}</ref> A [[median barrier]] was added in 1956 to prevent [[crossover accident]]s. Southeast of Downtown, the at-grade intersections proved dangerous, and only two<!--which two? is FM 1959 one?--> had been replaced with interchanges by 1959, when the [[Texas Highway Department]] began a program to upgrade the road to full [[freeway]] standards. [[Frontage road]]s would be required along the entire highway, since the state had not purchased access rights, and so abutting property owners were able to build driveways to the road. To accomplish this, traffic was shifted to the newly built frontage roads so that the central main lanes could be reconstructed. This grade separation was completed from Houston to Almeda-Genoa Road (exit&nbsp;34) in June 1959, [[Farm to Market Road 1959|FM&nbsp;1959]] (exit&nbsp;30) in October 1964, [[Farm to Market Road 518|FM&nbsp;518]] (exit&nbsp;23) in December 1970, and [[Farm to Market Road 1764|FM&nbsp;1764]] (exit&nbsp;15) in 1976. As the section beyond FM&nbsp;1764 into Galveston had already been rebuilt,<ref name=NBI/><ref>{{cite map |author = Texas State Highway Department |url = http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/aris/maps/maplookup.php3?mapnum=5138 |title = General Highway Map: Galveston County, Texas |year = 1957 |orig-year = State highways revised to January 1, 1961 }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><!--shows that the one at-grade on the map&nbsp;— Vauthier Road&nbsp;— was bypassed in 1961--> this marked the completion of the Gulf Freeway as an actual freeway.<ref name=HF4/>

[[Image:Houston, TX skyline from freeway.jpg|thumb|Looking northwest along the Gulf Freeway toward Downtown in 2006; the [[Texas State Highway Spur 5|Spur&nbsp;5]] distributor lanes, completed in 1988, are to the right]]
As the first freeway in Texas, the standards of the Gulf Freeway soon became inadequate, with poor sight lines and little room to merge when entering. It also attracted development, such as [[Gulfgate Center]], the first mall in the Houston area, the [[Manned Spacecraft Center]], and many [[residential development]]s. Heavy [[traffic congestion|congestion]] began to affect the freeway by the early 1960s; two roughly parallel freeways—the [[Harrisburg Freeway|Harrisburg]] and [[Alvin Freeway|Alvin]] freeways—were proposed at that time to relieve the traffic but were not built. A short project to widen the road to six lanes between I-610 and [[Sims Bayou]] was completed in 1960, and [[ramp meter]]s were installed in 1966. The I-610 interchange was rebuilt with direct connections for most movements in 1975. Plans to reconstruct the freeway near Downtown began in 1972, taking about 170&nbsp;houses and 22&nbsp;businesses from the southwest side for the room to expand the main lanes and add parallel lanes for the Alvin Freeway. Local opposition was unsuccessful at stopping the project, and construction on this segment, and others to the southeast, took place in the 1980s. The lanes were shifted outward to make room for the transitway, which opened to I-610 on May 16, 1988. These lanes were inspired by the similar ones on the [[Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway]] in the [[Washington metropolitan area]].<ref name=HF6>{{cite book |last = Slotboom |first = Erik |title = Houston Freeways: A Historical and Visual Journey |year = 2003 |publisher = Oscar F. "Erik" Slotboom |isbn = 0-9741605-3-9 |url = http://www.houstonfreeways.com/ |chapter = Chapter 6: Freeway Mass Transit |access-date = September 11, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060906040202/http://www.houstonfreeways.com/ |archive-date = September 6, 2006 |url-status = live }}{{sps|date=April 2020}}</ref> That year also marked the end of the reconstruction inside I-610, along with the elevated distribution lanes alongside the mainlanes near Downtown; the first short piece of the Alvin Freeway was finally connected to these in 1999. This project gave I-45 its current configuration, mostly eight mainlanes wide, from Sims Bayou past I-610 to Griggs Road in 1981, to Telephone Road in 1982, to Lockwood Drive in 1985, and, finally, to Downtown in 1988.<ref name=HF4/>

These projects, however, were not the end of construction on the Gulf Freeway. The highway beyond I-610 to FM&nbsp;1959, which had just been upgraded in the 1950s and 1960s, saw an extension of the transitway to a temporary end near FM&nbsp;1959, widening to eight lanes, and a large [[stack interchange]] at the [[Sam Houston Tollway]]. This reconstruction was completed between Almeda-Genoa Road and College Avenue in 1991, between College Avenue and Sims Bayou in 1994, and, finally in 1997, there was no construction anywhere on the entire length of the freeway when the tollway interchange was opened, along with the widening between Almeda-Genoa Road and FM&nbsp;1959. A 1999 study recommended widening the entire stretch from the Sam Houston Tollway to Galveston to at least eight lanes. Construction to replace the [[Galveston Causeway]] began in mid-2003,<ref name=HF4/> and work on a section through [[Webster, Texas|Webster]], including a new interchange with [[Texas State Highway NASA Road 1|NASA Road&nbsp;1]], began in mid-2007.<ref>{{cite press release |author = Texas Department of Transportation |url = http://www.dot.state.tx.us/news/local_news/houston_news/020-2007.htm |title = Reconstruction of IH 45—Gulf Freeway in Webster Announced |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121008212952/http://www.dot.state.tx.us/news/local_news/houston_news/020-2007.htm |archive-date = October 8, 2012  |date = June 11, 2007 }}{{full citation needed|date=April 2020}}</ref>

Widening of the freeway between Kurland Drive at Bay Area Boulevard began in July 2011. This construction will expand the number of freeway lanes from six to ten and increase the number of frontage lanes from four to six. The [[HOV lane]] will be extended to the southern end of the construction. It will also involve rebuilding the overpasses at Dixie Farm Road and Clear Lake City Boulevard. (Dixie Farm Road bridge demolition has already been completed.)<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/bay_area/news/article_e41c64f7-8092-57e1-87c7-68b70a8c267f.html |title = Gulf Freeway construction to begin this summer |first = Dana |last = Guthrie |work = Your Houston News |date = May 27, 2011 |access-date = June 29, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110530150600/http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/bay_area/news/article_e41c64f7-8092-57e1-87c7-68b70a8c267f.html |archive-date = May 30, 2011 |url-status = live }}</ref> According to TxDOT, the project is approximately {{convert|15|mi|km}} in length, starting at Kurland and ending approximately {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} south of Bay Area Boulevard.

The project has six phases. Phase one is the reconstruction of the mainlanes from the northern end of the project to just south of FM&nbsp;1959. The end of this phase will include the demolition and reconstruction of the bridge at the FM&nbsp;1959 intersection. Phase two, planned to begin in mid-2012, will be the reconstruction of the frontage roads from just south of FM&nbsp;1959 to the southern end of the project. Phase three will be the reconstruction of the mainlanes on the southern half of the project and is planned to begin in mid-2013. Phase four, scheduled to start late 2014, will be the demolition and reconstruction of the overpass at Clear Lake City Boulevard. Phase five (which was completed) was the demolition and reconstruction of El Dorado and Bay Area boulevards. The demolition and reconstruction was finished in 2016. As a result, the 1960s-era cloverleaf interchanges (with the exception of Fuqua Street and Scarsdale Boulevard) have been eliminated with overpasses. Phase six will be making the new lanes of the freeway. It will have five lanes each direction along with the new overpasses for those two underpasses. This will be completed 2017.

In 2015, reconstruction and widening of I-45 began in Downtown due to heavy traffic. The southbound onramp from Allen Parkway will be moved to enter on the right side, and long-range plans call for the demolition of the outdated Pierce Elevated, with the reroute of I-45 being along [[Interstate 69 in Texas|I-69]]/[[U.S. Route 59 in Texas|US&nbsp;59]] and [[Interstate 10 in Texas|I-10]]/[[U.S. Route 90 in Texas|US&nbsp;90]] to the North Freeway. The parts of the Gulf Freeway at I-10 and I-45 will be known as the Downtown Connector. If I-45 was rerouted and the Pierce Elevated demolished (and/or redeveloped into the proposed Pierce SkyPark as part of additional greenspace), the connecting ramps south of Allen Parkway would become a second downtown spur, which will result in the demise of a full freeway loop around Downtown. {{as of|2018}}, there are no plans to place the Pierce Elevated in a tunnel similar to Spur&nbsp;366 in Dallas since Greater Houston is prone to flooding, especially in the aftermath of [[Hurricane Harvey]].