Interstate 45

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Interstate 45 is an intrastate interstate highway located entirely within the state of Texas, United States. Like other "interstates", it is commonly referred to as I-45. Its odd number indicates that it is primarily a north-south highway. Its southern end is in Galveston, Texas (where the mile count begins) at the intersection of Texas State Highway 87 and Spur 342; its northern end is in Dallas, Texas at Interstate 30. (Interstate 345, an unmarked interstate, seamlessly carries traffic from the I-45 terminus at I-30 to US 75 start at Spur 366.[1])

Interstate 45 gained notoriety during Hurricane Rita in 2005. Thousands of Houston area evacuees jammed the roadway trying to leave. As a result, the freeway became a parking lot. Gas stations ran dry and hundreds of people's cars simply ran empty, their occupants having to spend the night along the shoulder. Four-hour drives suddenly became 24-hour drives. Even though the Texas Department of Transportation started contraflow lane reversal at FM 1488, it didn't alleviate the traffic jam deep into the city, as that starting point was even north of The Woodlands, which is regarded as a northern terminus of the greater Houston area before hitting Conroe.

Unlike most of the other interstates ending in "5", it is not a border-to-border highway.

Contents 1 Length 2 Major Cities Along the Route 3 Intersections with other Interstates 4 Spur Routes 5 Notes 6 Reference

Length

Miles	km	state
284	460	Texas
284	460	Total

Major Cities Along the Route

• Galveston, Texas
• Houston, Texas
• Dallas, Texas

Intersections with other Interstates

• Interstate 610 (twice) in Houston, Texas
• Interstate 10 in Houston, Texas
• Interstate 20 in Dallas, Texas
• Interstate 30 in Dallas, Texas
• Interstate 345 in Dallas, Texas[2]

Spur Routes

• Unmarked Interstate 345 in Dallas, Texas. I-345 is less than one mile (1.6 km) long and connects the end of I-45 to the end of US 75 along the east side of downtown Dallas. It is signed northbound as US 75 and southbound as I-45.[3]

	edit Three-digit Interstates from Interstate 45
I-345	Texas

Notes

• I-45 is not only an intrastate Interstate, but is also the shortest major Interstate (ending in 0 or 5). I-45 is also the longest intrastate Interstate not to touch any state or national borders (Interstate 87 in New York is longer, but reaches the Canadian border).
• ISTEA states that Oklahoma can submit U.S. Highways 69 and 75, from the Texas state line to Interstate 40 at Checotah, Oklahoma, as an Interstate at any time. US 75 is controlled access from Dallas to the Oklahoma border, as is US 69 from McAlester to Muskogee. But the 125 mile (201 km) segment in between is mostly at-grade.

Reference

• 2005 Rand McNally "The Road Atlas 2005" - newest feature- interstate mileage by state

edit Primary Interstate Highways
4	5	8	10	12	15	16	17
19	20	22	24	25	26	27	29
30	35	37	39	40	43	44	45
49	55	57	59	64	65	66	68
69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76 (W)
76 (E)	77	78	79	80	81	82	83
84 (W)	84 (E)	85	86 (W)	86 (E)	87	88 (W)	88 (E)
89	90	91	93	94	95	96	97
99	238	H-1	H-2	H-3
Unsigned Interstate Highways
A-1	A-2	A-3	A-4	PRI-1	PRI-2	PRI-3
Lists Two-digit Interstates - Three-digit Interstates Gaps in Interstates - Intrastate Interstates Interstate standards - Proposed Interstates