Interstate 610 (Texas)

Interstate 610 marker
Interstate 610
Map
I-610 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-10
Maintained by TxDOT
Length37.972 mi[1][2] (61.110 km)
Existed1959[1]–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
Beltway around Houston
Major intersections
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountiesHarris
Highway system
SH 550 I-635

Interstate 610 (I-610[a]) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway that forms a 37.972-mile-long (61.110 km) loop around the inner city sector of the city of Houston, Texas. I-610, colloquially known as The Loop, Loop 610, The Inner Loop, or just 610, traditionally marks the border between the inner city of Houston ("inside the Loop") and its surrounding areas. It is the innermost of the three Houston beltways, the other two being Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Parkway/Tollway) and State Highway 99 (SH 99; Grand Parkway), of which various segments are under construction or planning. In Houston, the area inside I-610 is the urban core. Jeff Balke of the Houston Press wrote that the freeway "is as much a social and philosophical divide as a physical one".[4] Mike Snyder in the Houston Chronicle wrote that, as someone from inside I-610, he historically felt "kind of special" due to being close to "the city's historical core and its major business, educational and cultural institutions".[5]

  1. ^ a b Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Interstate Highway No. 610". Highway Designation Files. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  2. ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (n.d.). "Highway Designations Glossary". Texas Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  4. ^ Balke, Jeff (October 21, 2014). "10 Things You Say That Make You a Houstonian". Houston Press. p. 2. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  5. ^ Snyder, Mike (February 6, 2022). "Essay: We 'Inner-Loopers' have lost our special status". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2022.


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