KHOU points out that the construction on I-45 will make for serious bottlenecks during another evacuation, even if contraflow lanes are used.

Traffic bottlenecks at FM 1488, where construction begins. It is there where drivers fear traffic will come to a standstill should a hurricane evacuation be called.

“It’s probably going to happen like last time. It’s going to be backed up, ah, for days,� said Lt. Dennis DePaul with the Conroe Fire Department. That’s not good news for people heading north through 45, running from a storm.

“We don’t have wide shoulders to accommodate wide vehicles and so on. That does have an impact, so that means we have to heighten our awareness,� said Texas Department of Transportation’s Janelle Gbur.

I disagree with the importance they attach to this fact. It’s true that there’s no shoulders and lots of construction, but remember one thing: I-45 is always under construction. The real problem is that when it was constructed, it was largely created from the existing Hwy. 75. Unlike Hwy 90 and various coastal roads which parallel I-10, there simply is no other way to get from the northernost end of Houston (the end of the Hardy Toll Road) to Conroe itself. What little section of Hwy. 75 left in existance picks up at the southern end of town, runs through downtown Conroe and rejoins I-45 to the north.

Look at this map of Interstate 45 S & Fm 1488 Rd.

Judged strictly from the standpoint of evacuation, we would need to extend the toll road to Huntsville to do much good. The road net at that point would allow the traffic to spread out and take alternate routes. However, that would be incredibly expensive, and not justified based on everyday travel. Still, even 2-lane roads can carry a fair amount of traffic if utilized properly. The major problem, as I’ve said before, is that in the interests of an “orderly” evacuation, the bureaucrats running the show insist on channeling everyone from Galveston to Beaumont into five major corridors: Hwy 87, Hwy. 59, I-45, Hwy 290, I-10 West from Houston, I-10 East from Beaumont (assuming a strike between Victoria and Beaumont). This fails to take advantage of the many side roads available to bleed off excess traffic.