Houston, Texas photo gallery - Freeways, Highways and Streets
I need your help! Can someone tell me if the two abandoned bridges along State Highway 6 between Bear Creek Park and Addicks Dam still exist? I belive these were bridges built back in the 1950s when the road was still FM 1960. The most recent SH 6 construction may have destroyed them, but they might exist under the new road. If so, please let me know where they are.
1. Abandoned 69th
Street Bridge in Houston, Texas. The bridge no longer exists.
It was behind the barricades.
The bridge above
the barricades is the northbound bridge of Wayside Drive, which is US 90 Alternate in Houston, Texas. The southbound
bridge of US 90 A is to the left of the picture and cannot be seen.
2. Abandoned 69th
Street Bridge in Houston, Texas - another photo - this time with traffic
on Wayside Drive. Before the East Loop 610 bridge was constructed, this was
a much busier crossing over Buffalo Bayou.
3. Hey, I thought
US 75 was decommissioned! Yes, it was, but a few of the signs are still
up in Houston - this one is ... well, I'm not telling - I don't want anyone
to take it down!
4/5. More US 75
signs at the secret intersection!
6. Ghost Off Ramp off SH 288 between Old Spanish Trail and Yellowstone.
Just before the overpass in the background (Yellowstone Street) is a ghost
entrance ramp from nowhere. There are ghost ramps on the other side
of the freeway as well.
Another view of the ghost ramp.
Ghost ramp - from different angle.
Yet another angle - this ghost ramp appears to have a storm drain.
As seen from atop the Old Spanish Trail Bridge - where was this ramp going
to go anyway?
Not much here, but grass - this is the right-of-way for future State Highway
35. It's currently called Spur 5 and you can just make out the service
road bridges in the background.
Current end of the line for Texas Spur 5 - the service roads end at Old Spanish
Trail. Strangely enough, down near the University of Houston, there
was for a short while a U.S. 36 sign in place on this road! This was
an obvious mistake. I may have a photo at home somewhere showing the
sign, but it wasn't a real good photo. Still, it's unusual that Spur
5 is the designation, athough calling it SH 35 could be very confusing at
this point.
This one is probably my favorite photo of all. The ashphalt near the
middle of this photo is all that remains of a small connecting road that
led from IH 10 over to Katy Road when IH 10 did not go east of the
West Loop. In fact, traffic came to an abrupt half and make a very
sharp turn onto this road. The overpass above is IH 610, the West Loop.
The road in the immediate foreground is one of the HOV lanes. It covered
up part of the small asphalt connecting road. I'll never forget that
weird turn. You went from a full size freeway down to a tiny road and
then to a sharp left. It was like this for approximately five to six
years. IH 10 was extended east in 1968 and went as far as IH 45 north
of downtown. In 1972, the final section opened north of downtown
Houston and Interstate 10 was complete across town.
Before there was Interstate 10 (the Katy Freeway) there was Katy Road (and
before that it was Old Katy Road). This isn't the best quality photo,
but it does show that Katy Road was a 4-lane divided highway. Just
to the right of this road is an abandoned railroad right of way. Toward
the back of this picture is where Katy Road and IH 10 merge, with an HOV
ramp crossing over the freeway. It is past this point where the freeway
will be widened, making use of the abandoned RR right of way.