Hello Please, (Houston, San Antonio, Katy: construction, airport, estimate)

[huckster]

I am leaving out of Houston on a weekday flight at 8:00 p.m. next week. I have a problem however. I am planning to arrive two hours early at the airport of course as is necessary nowadays for all of the pre-flight rigamarole.
My true worry is that fabled Houston heavy traffic. Since I am driving in from San Antonio- how heavy will the traffic be towards the Bush intercontinental Airport? Should I leave extra early to accomodate the extra travel time that may be involved in order to arrive on time at Bush Airport due to traffic snarls?
Not an exact estimate of course but should allow a lot of extra time perhaps an extra hour or two to accommodate the heavier traffic of the evening rush hour? I don't know as I haven't been to Houston in a lot of years. People drove very fast back then I thought in comparison to San Antonio drivers.
Google maps estimated that it takes three hours to travel the 210 miles between San Antonio and the Houston Bush Airport.
I figure this estimate to be inaccurate, probably?
Any feedback as far as timeliness from you expert Houstonian drivers would be appreciated. San Antone's traffic is getting bad but not nearly as bad as Houston traffic, I have heard.
Maybe I should leave two hours earlier than the Google maps estimate for a four hour road trip to the Airport ?
Thanks Houston, from Old San Antone and in the words of the famous quote..... " Houston- We have a problem? "

[haudi]

You never know. One accident can add 45 minutes or more to your drive. Leave early and don't worry about it. If you get here too early, go grab a bite and relax. Better than the alternative of panic.

[houstmom]

Can you just leave San Antonio in the morning and hang out the airport until your flight?

[oespinoza83]

I am assuming you are coming in from I-10? Just take 10 to Katy, then head northbound on the Grand Parkway all the way to I45. Yes, you will have to have some sort of eztag/txtag/tolltag already on your vehicle (or get billed in the mail with fees), but the traffic will be MUCH lighter than the other routes imo.

[huckster]

I remain unconcerned about timeliness. I will be there in plenty of time but have been forewarned
by a good friend about how bad Houston traffic is. So I am very curious to hear how bad it actually is
from a few of its' residents.
I first visited Houston in 1975 and considered Houstonians to be the craziest drivers I had ever seen,
so I remain suspicious of them people to this day.
I am aware that an accident can add to travel time and will accommodate this by leaving an hour early,
perhaps two. When I looked into the drive on the google map website it reported an accident at that very moment that had traffic backed up and also estimated an extra fifteen minutes drive time.
I have waited around airports long enough in my lifetime.
A friend of the friend I mentioned above claimed that it had taken him two hours to simply get out of the city of Houston during rush hour ? So of course I am wondering if it was accurate or simply happened to him?
I have traveled extensively and found Chicago to be the worse of all driving scenarios. The Kennedy Freeway was under construction one time and I remember it took me 9 hours to reach Detroit from West Chicago a drive of only 275 miles. That , was nuts.
It was a very good thing that I had arrived a day early.

[huckster]

Thanks for the advice on a possible more convenient route Espinoza, I will look into it
and may take your advice.

Originally Posted by oespinoza83

I am assuming you are coming in from I-10? Just take 10 to Katy, then head northbound on the Grand Parkway all the way to I45. Yes, you will have to have some sort of eztag/txtag/tolltag already on your vehicle (or get billed in the mail with fees), but the traffic will be MUCH lighter than the other routes imo.

[crone]

You never know about Houston traffic. Sometimes an hour trip take 40 minutes, sometimes 2 hours. You will be in rush hour traffic. It is what it is.

IDK about that Grand Parkway trip around to I 45. That puts you in the Tomball Woodlands area at quitting time. I'd go Beltway 8 from 10 and take my chances.

[huckster]

Thanks fellow crony.All advice will be most gratefully accepted and most profitably put to use. Who knows the traffic tie ups better than the locals? Google be damned.
However I have two conflicting opinions posted here about the best route in from San Antonio. I wonder which is in the right?
Doesn't the Beltway 8 from 10 route take you past the cutoff northward point toward the Bush Airport?
I think I get it, it would be faster to go all of the way around the Tomball Woodlands area around "quitting time" because traffic must get really heavy in that area at that time of day?

Originally Posted by crone

You never know about Houston traffic. Sometimes an hour trip take 40 minutes, sometimes 2 hours. You will be in rush hour traffic. It is what it is.

IDK about that Grand Parkway trip around to I 45. That puts you in the Tomball Woodlands area at quitting time. I'd go Beltway 8 from 10 and take my chances.

[haudi]

Download Waze and take all the guesswork out of finding the best route. It will route you around traffic jams in real time and is a lifesaver for trips like this.