Houston Traffic Wednesday PM Drive: the Convention District Closure Set Is the East-Downtown Map - Polk Shut at Chartres, Chenevert, Jackson and Clay All Lanes Closed
Houston First's own closure page for the GRB transformation district lists the streets the evening drive cannot use: Polk closed to cars and pedestrians alike, three cross streets closed in all lanes, Leeland down two lanes - and a named detour for I-59 drivers: exit at West Gray, in on Pease or St. Joseph.
The evening drive across east downtown runs through a construction district, and the district's owner publishes the map. Houston First's street-closure page for the Convention District Transformation Project - the multibillion-dollar George R. Brown rebuild this station's morning finance file covered - currently lists Polk Street closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic between Chartres Street and Jackson Street, permitted through Houston Public Works with standard traffic control plans in place.
Polk is not the whole set. Chenevert Street between Bell and Polk is closed in all lanes; Jackson Street between Bell and Polk is closed in all lanes; Clay Street between Hamilton and Jackson is closed in all lanes; and Leeland Street between Hamilton and Jackson runs with two lanes closed. On Avenida de las Americas between McKinney and Lamar, vehicular use is restricted to Hilton valet traffic only, and pedestrian and bicycle traffic along the closed stretch of Polk has been discontinued outright - this closure set binds walkers and cyclists, not just drivers.
Houston First's published guidance for reaching downtown destinations from northbound I-59 is specific: exit at West Gray and take Pease Street or St. Joseph Parkway into downtown. The page notes the demolition of the Avenida South Garage is complete, and that the corporation continues to coordinate with the City of Houston, TxDOT and partners on access through the project - whose centerpiece, GRB South, is scheduled to open in May 2028, which makes this closure geography a multi-year feature of the east-downtown drive rather than a weekend inconvenience.
For tonight's drive the practical summary is short: the parade closures from this morning are done, the US 290 frontage work on the northwest side pauses at 4 p.m. under its weekday schedule (SQ-20261111-036), and the standing obstacle is the rectangle east of the convention center where four streets are shut in whole or in part. West Gray to Pease or St. Joseph is the published way in.
