Houston Traffic Wednesday: Veterans Day Parade Closures Start at 9 A.M. - Allen Parkway Shuts Between Taft and Bagby, Bagby Closes at 9:45

Downtown Houston driving changes this morning for the Houston Salutes American Heroes Veterans Day Celebration, and the closures begin well before the parade does. According to the City of Houston's Veterans Day page, Allen Parkway - inbound and outbound - closes between Taft and Bagby at 9 a.m., along with the Lamar north bike lane along Sam Houston Park. At 9:45 a.m., Bagby closes between Clay and McKinney, and Bagby southbound closes at Walker; the McKinney off-ramp remains open and exits north on Bagby.

Two setup closures are already in force and outlast the parade: the north curb lane of the 400-500 blocks of McKinney and both curb lanes of the 400-500 blocks of Walker have been closed since 8 a.m. Tuesday and stay closed until 5 p.m. Wednesday. Drivers who use Allen Parkway or Bagby for the morning commute should reroute before 9 a.m. rather than after the barricades are up.

The events the closures serve run on the traditional clock. The Veterans Day Ceremony is held on the steps of City Hall at 10 a.m., with a Moment of Silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day in memory of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. The American Heroes Parade begins at 11:30 a.m. at Dallas and Bagby and proceeds east on Dallas, north on Louisiana, west on Walker, south on Smith and west on Lamar, ending on Lamar at Bagby, with local veteran organizations, ROTC units, bands and supporters marching.

The city notes that Texas has the largest veteran population in the nation, with over 250,000 veterans in residence - the reason this parade route, and the street closures around it, are an annual fixture rather than an exception. The parade is open to the public along the route; today's heavy rain (see the Weather Desk's overnight file) makes the closures, not the weather, the predictable part of the morning.