Interstate 45

Overview

An intrastate route, Interstate 45 joins Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast with the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. Beginning on Galveston Island, IH 45 replaced U.S. 75 along the Gulf Freeway, a pre-Interstate era highway constructed between Galveston and Houston. Angling northwest, the freeway passes by NASA's Johnson Space Center toward South Houston, Park Place and Downtown Houston.

Within central Houston, IH 45 briefly runs side by side with IH 10 and U.S. 90. This will further change with the North Houston Highway Improvements Project, which relocates IH 45 into dual freeway configuration with IH 69 / U.S. 59 along the Eastex Freeway along the east side of Downtown. IH 45 will also extend further adjacent to IH 10 north of Downtown before joining the North Freeway to Westfield, Spring, The Woodlands and other northern Houston suburbs.

Beyond Conroe, IH 45 transitions to a rural freeway through Sam Houston National Forest. Exiting the forest, the freeway shifts westward from Huntsville to Madisonville while remaining rural to Coriscana. U.S. 287 combines with the freeway between Corsicana to Ennis, where it branches northwest to Waxahachie, Mansfield and Fort Worth. With increasing industrial development, IH 45 proceeds from U.S. 287 to Ennis, Ferris, Wilmer and south Dallas.

IH 45 concludes at IH 30 and U.S. 75 (Central Expressway) by Deep Ellum and Downtown Dallas. The southern 1.427 miles of U.S. 75 double as unsigned IH 345. Exit numbers continue northward along the IH 345 segment to Spur 366 (Woodall Rogers Freeway), where they reset using a sequential system along the remainder of U.S. 75 northward.

Mileage by State

Texas

285.03 mi

Data Sources

December 31, 2021 Interstate Route Log and Finders List

History

Approved by the Texas State Highway Commission in 1962 with 286 miles, IH 45 was an original Interstate Highway.¹ Authorized in 1956, the section of IH 45 in Navarro County near Corsicana represents the first Interstate Highway contract to be let in Texas.² However, the U.S. 75 / Gulf Freeway portion of IH 45 predated the Interstate system, which opened in September 1948. The Gulf Freeway was fully signed as IH 45 in 1971 following a series of upgrades to Interstate standards.

Construction started on the North Freeway segment of IH 45 in Houston in December 1959. It was completed north to Spring by February 1963. Succeeding sections of IH 45 were completed in the 1960s, including the stretch from Conroe to Madisonville, the section from Madisonville to Centerville, and the bypass around Corsicana.

During the early 1970s, the section from Centerville to Buffalo opened. A 12 mile segment of IH 45 between Fairfield and Streetman in Freestone County  opened to traffic on October 13, 1971. Remaining sections, including the relocated Central Expressway in Dallas and the portion of IH 45 connecting Buffalo, Richland and Fairfield, were built in the mid to late 1970s.³

Interstate 45 Extension

Despite the U.S. 75 extending north along a freeway to McKinney and U.S. 69 at Sherman, there are no formal plans to extend Interstate 45 northward from Dallas into Oklahoma. A section in the ISTEA (1991) legislation however indicated that U.S. 69 in the Sooner State would become part of the Interstate highway system once it was upgraded to Interstate standards. ISTEA Section 1074, Designation of United States Route 69, states:

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the request of the Oklahoma State highway agency, the Secretary shall designate the portion of United States Route 69 from the Oklahoma-Texas State line to Checotah in the State of Oklahoma as a part of the Interstate System pursuant to section 139 of title 23, United States Code.

A subsequent unrealized plan was to construct a new segment of the Oklahoma Turnpike along the U.S. 69 corridor.

North End  ‐ Dallas, TX

North at

IH 45 north ends opposite U.S. 75, which extends northward along the Central Expressway toward McKinney and Sherman. Exit 284 A departs next for IH 30 to Fort Worth and Texarkana. 10/19/03

South at

Connecting with IH 30 at a symmetrical stack interchange (Exit 284 A), the Central Expressway navigates through an elevated S-curve between Downtown and Deep Ellum. 08/06/19

East at

Leaving the Mix Master Interchange with IH 35E (Stemmons Freeway), IH 30 advances east one mile to IH 45 south and IH 345/U.S. 75 (Central Expressway) north. 08/06/19

West at

IH 30 weaves southwest through the Deep Ellum community to IH 45 south and U.S. 75 (IH 345) north. 08/06/19

North End – Past Views

Past Views Gallery (Tap to Expand / Collapse Section)

East at

The IH 30 mainline continues east 1.25 miles to the distributor roadway (Exit 46) for IH 45 south and IH 345/U.S. 75 north. 10/19/03

South End  ‐ Galveston, TX

South at

The final two interchanges of IH 45 south connect with 71st Street at Exit 1 B and State Spur 342 (61st Street) at Exit 1 A. Traffic interests to the Galveston beaches partition between 61st Street for the West beaches and SH 87 (Broadway Avenue) for the East beaches. 08/02/19

North at

Spur 342 (61st Street) leads 1.67 miles north from the Gulf of Mexico waterfront and Seawall Boulevard to the diamond interchange joining IH 45 and SH 87 (Broadway Avenue). 08/02/19

North

SH 87 (Broadway Avenue) transitions into IH 45 north just beyond the signal with 59th Street and an adjacent retail center. Exit 1 A follows to SS 342 (61st Street). 08/02/19