On Tuesday, northwest Harris County got pummeled with rainfall that rivaled anything that Tropical Storm Allison or Hurricane Ike gave us. So once again it was the job of the 1940s-era Addicks Dam and its reservoir to slow down the floodwaters before they washed over central Houston. Since the 1940s, however, suburban development has boomed behind the reservoir, and one of the consequences was the flooding of the Bear Creek neighborhoods. State Highway 6 in that area took on high water, prompting officials to close the entire section all the way to the Katy Freeway.
This inconvenience to commuters gave me a truly rare running opportunity. I took a run of 6.6 miles that was an out-and-back along the Highway 6 viaduct. Ordinarily, such a run on this major traffic artery would be virtually an application for roadkill status, but today I had all six lanes to myself, and I was crisscrossing them all at will. I got a good look at the floodwaters which were just below the level of the bridge, along with a lot of trash . . . and snakes. You probably couldn't pay me enough to take a swim in that drink!
It looks like the highway will be closed at least through the weekend. We'll see if the water recedes enough for drivers to take over the blacktop again for Monday morning rush hour.
1 comment:
What an awesome idea! That must have rocked to have that road all to yourself.
The water was very scary last Tuesday. One thing about Houston that I don't like is all the flooding.
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