U.S. Route 90 Alternate (Texas)

Infobox U.S. Route
type=Alternate
article_route=90
alternate_name=


length_mi=175.29
length_round=2
length_ref=cite web|url=http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/ua/ua0090.htm|author=Texas Department of Transportation|accessdate=2008-03-11|title=Highway Designation File - U.S. Highway No. 90 Alternate]
yrcom=1942
direction_a=West
from=jct|state=TX|US|90|FM|464 west of Seguin
junction=
direction_b=East
to=jct|state=TX|I|610 in Houston
spur_of=90
browse=tx browse2
previous_type=state
previous_route=342
route=SH 343
next_type=state
next_route=344

U.S. Highway 90 Alternate is an alternate route to U.S. Highway 90 in the U.S. state of Texas, running from west of Seguin east via Seguin, Gonzales, Hallettsville, Eagle Lake, Rosenberg and Sugar Land to northeastern Houston. South of Downtown Houston, US 90 Alternate is built to freeway and near-freeway standards along a section of South Main Street.

Route description

US 90 Alternate begins at U.S. Highway 90 and Farm to Market Road 464 west of Seguin and heads east through downtown Seguin on Court Street. (US 90 travels on Kingsbury Street, just 15 blocks to the north.) From Seguin to the Houston suburb of Rosenberg, US 90 Alternate passes through mainly rural areas.

Just west of downtown Rosenberg, it merges with Spur 529, part of U.S. Highway 59 until 1976. [Texas Department of Transportation, [http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/ss/ss0529.htm Highway Designation File - State Highway Spur 529] ] US 59 used to run concurrent with US 90 Alternate between Rosenberg and southwest of downtown Houston, but it was relocated to the Southwest Freeway as construction of the freeway between Houston and Rosenberg was completed in stages from 1961 to 1976.

After Rosenberg, US 90 Alternate passes through Richmond, Sugar Land, Stafford and Missouri City before entering Houston. As of August 2008, construction is underway to upgrade portions of US 90 Alternate in Stafford between U.S. Highway 59 and the Sam Houston Tollway into a freeway. While some portions will retain at grade intersections with streets, overpasses will be added, namely at South Gessner Road, Staffordshire Road, Promenade Boulevard, FM 1092, and Kirkwood Road/Dulles Avenue. There it crosses the Sam Houston Tollway into the Houston City Limits and becomes South Main Street. A few miles down, the highway meets the current northern terminus of the Fort Bend Toll Road. The short controlled-access highway portion of US 90 Alternate/South Main - part of which has local access, but no median breaks - currently begins just before the Sam Houston Tollway and ends just short of Interstate Highway 610. The controlled access portion, with the section between Interstate Highway 610 to just west of Holmes Road being completed in 2002 and the section from just west of Holmes Road to just east of the Sam Houston Tollway completed in 2007 has 6 lanes without interior or exterior shoulder lanes, plus exit lanes and a maximum speed limit of 55 mph for most of its length. These portions were previously a 4 lane divided highway with exterior shoulder lanes, crossovers, and at grade crossings with major thoroughfares. [ [http://www.houstonfreeways.com/modern/2006-11-25_houston_construction.aspx Houston Construction Update] . Erik Slotboom, Houston Freeways. November 26, 2006. Last accessed November 27, 2006.]

North of I-610, US 90A becomes the widest street in Houston with 10 through lanes and several turning lanes. This section, previously a 4 lane divided highway, was upgraded to its current width between 1999 and 2001. [ [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Main+St+%26+I-610+(W),+Houston,+TX+77025&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=29.679067,-95.426093&spn=0.002228,0.005375&t=k&om=1 Satellite image of South Main Street just north of the South Loop, Houston, Texas] . Google Maps. Last accessed November 27, 2006.] Further north, US 90 Alternate splits from South Main Street onto Old Spanish Trail (O.S.T.), becoming a six lane boulevard heading east to cross State Highway 288 (South Freeway) with a grade separated street-to-street intersection with Griggs Road, and meets the southern terminus of Spur 5 near the University of Houston. After crossing Spur 5, it turns into a 4 lane undivided road, crossing Brays Bayou and turning northeast onto Wayside Drive, crossing Interstate Highway 45 (Gulf Freeway). Between Polk Street until after crossing over the ship channel, it divides into two one way streets. US 90 Alternate West (southbound) is Wayside Drive while US 90 Alternate East (northbound) goes down S/SGT Macario Garcia (formerly 69th Street). At Interstate Highway 10/U.S. Highway 90 (East Freeway), US 90 Alternate turns east to multiplex with I-10/US 90 for a short jog, then turning north onto McCarty Street. US 90 Alternate ends at the junction with Interstate Highway 610 in northeastern Houston, where Business U.S. Highway 90-U continues northeast on McCarty Street. [Texas Department of Transportation, [http://txdot.lib.utexas.edu/raw/tcharr02.html 1992 map of Harris County Texas] (highways revised to January 1, 1994)] (Business US 90 is temporarily serving as part of US 90 until the Crosby Freeway is completed; [Texas Department of Transportation, [http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/bu/bu0090u.htm Highway Designation File - Business U.S. Highway 90-U] ] US 90 comes from the south on IH 610 and exits at McCarty Street.)

References