page_title: Interstate 10 in Texas
section_title: Houston and East Texas
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 10 in Texas / Route description / Houston and East Texas
caption_attribution_description: English: View west along Interstate 10 (Katy Freeway) from the overpass for McKee Street in Houston, Harris County, Texas
context_page_description: Interstate 10 is the major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. In the U.S. state of Texas, it runs east from Anthony, at the border with New Mexico, through El Paso, San Antonio and Houston to the border with Louisiana in Orange, Texas. At just under 880 miles, the Texas segment of I-10, maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation, is the longest continuous untolled freeway in North America that is operated by a single authority. It is also the longest stretch of Interstate Highway with a single designation within a single state. Mile marker 880 and its corresponding exit number in Orange, Texas, are the highest numbered mile marker and exit on any freeway in North America. After widening was completed in 2008, a portion of the highway west of Houston is now also believed to be the widest in the world, at 26 lanes when including feeders.
  More than a third of I-10's entire length is located in Texas alone. El Paso, near the Texas–New Mexico state line, is 785 miles from the western terminus of I-10 in Santa Monica, California, making it closer to Los Angeles than it is to Orange, Texas, 857 miles away at the Texas–Louisiana state line.
context_section_description: From the western suburb of Katy to downtown, I-10 is known as the Katy Freeway in Houston. This section was widened in 2008 to as many as 26 total lanes, counting the six lanes of the access (frontage) road, which feature traffic signals, and driveway access and are not limited-access and therefore not technically part of the freeway itself but are directly adjacent. Between the West Beltway and the West Loop, the Katy Freeway features a basic configuration of fourteen lanes, featuring seven lanes each direction.  This cross-section swells with auxiliary lanes, ramp lanes and the inclusion of the frontage access roads, although those lanes are controlled by traffic signals.  Including auxiliary lanes, ramp lanes, and the access frontage roads, the minimum lane count is 22 total lanes. In this section, the width is 24 lanes at multiple locations and up to 26 lanes east of Gessner Road (12 main lanes, eight lanes of access roads, and six mid-freeway HOT/HOV lanes). From the Fort Bend county line to I-610, there is a minimum of four main lanes in each direction. The maximum number of undivided lanes at any point on the freeway is nine in the eastbound direction approaching Antoine Drive (though this includes one exit-only lane); this is one of the widest sections of undivided highway in a single direction in the world. The widest right-of-way, 556 ft (169 m), occurs at the Katy Freeway's intersection with Bunker Hill; at that point, the expansion plans called for six main lanes plus two toll lanes in each direction along with 10 lanes on the feeder/frontage roads. While this section still features fourteen through continuous lanes through the Bunker Hill interchange, when auxiliary lanes, ramp lanes, and the frontage access roads are included, the actual striping after construction delineates 29 lanes, including all 26 of the planned lanes plus an additional lane in each direction to enter or exit the toll lanes and one more turn lane on the eastbound feeder road.
  Between I-610 and I-45 west of downtown, the interstate contains at least five main lanes in each direction. Before 2008, this section had traditionally been the widest section of I-10 in the Houston area and the only one with a significant portion below grade. A project completed in 2014 added one extra auxiliary lane in each direction between Shepherd Drive and Taylor Street. In addition, the eastbound feeder road that ends at Studemont was extended to Taylor Street. As I-10 travels through downtown, it junctions with I-45 and I-69/US 59. Both interchanges feature left exits, allowing several lane shifts for through traffic. I-10 provides access to Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros, and also runs through the campus of the University of Houston–Downtown
  The section east of downtown Houston is officially known as the "East Freeway", although it is widely known by locals as the Baytown East Freeway or colloquially shortened to the Beast, due to a marketing push by Baytown, one of the largest cities in the Greater Houston Area. I-10 reaches Beaumont at an interchange with US 69/US 96/US 287 and is runs concurrently with the US Highways for 2.63 miles (4.23 km) and curves to the east again at a second interchange. At College Street (US 90), I-10 expands to eight lanes. I-10 meets US 90 again near the recently reconstructed Purple Heart Memorial Bridge over the Neches River; these highways travel concurrently the remainder of the way across the state. I-10 reaches Orange County and passes through the towns of Rose City, Vidor, Pinehurst, and Orange. Business US 90-Y splits off and comes back to I-10 near the Sabine River Bridge over the Sabine River. At the river, I-10 crosses into Louisiana.
caption: I-10 westbound passing downtown Houston
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