I'm flying out of IAH on Friday morning. I plan on leaving College Station at 6am. What is the best route to take to avoid the worst of the workday traffic? I've driven to Houston numerous times, but it's usually on the weekend and I don't need to worry about commuter traffic.

Best is to stick with HWY 6, 290, Beltway to the airport. Leaving at 6 you WILL hit traffic at 290 and 1960 around 7:15am. No way around it.

At that time there really is no way to avoid traffic. You're best bet it to arrive at the airport about 6am, or find somewhere the night before in Houston and go from there.

My preferred route to IAH is Hwy 6 to Navasota, 105 to Conroe, I-45 to the Hardy Tollroad to IAH. You will need about $3 in tolls, I think.

(You can also miss some traffic on 105 by turning right on FM 2854 immediately after Montgomery. You will bypass Lake Conroe and most of Conroe and hit I-45 a little farther south.)

I also recommend that you park and check in at Terminal B. Even if your flight is leaving from a different terminal, checking in at B will save you a lot of time and hassle.

Hope this helps! Have a safe flight!

There's really not a great option. You're leaving early enough to avoid some of it. I'd go 290 to beltway 8. Other option would be 105 to 45, but that's even more of a potential nightmare. 290's bad, but at least it moves unless there's a wreck.

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My preferred route to IAH is Hwy 6 to Navasota, 105 to Conroe, I-45 to the Hardy Tollroad to IAH. You will need about $3 in tolls, I think.

(You can also miss some traffic on 105 by turning right on FM 2854 immediately after Montgomery. You will bypass Lake Conroe and most of Conroe and hit I-45 a little farther south.)

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THIS

if you leave CS at 0600, you will hit 290/bw8 ~7 and will hit traffic.

Thanks! I figured it would be between 105/45 and 290/8. My flight is not until 10:30am, so I hope that I am giving myself plenty of time to get through the worst of it by leaving at 6am, although I may aim for leaving a bit earlier after reading the replies.

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My preferred route to IAH is Hwy 6 to Navasota, 105 to Conroe, I-45 to the Hardy Tollroad to IAH. You will need about $3 in tolls, I think.

(You can also miss some traffic on 105 by turning right on FM 2854 immediately after Montgomery. You will bypass Lake Conroe and most of Conroe and hit I-45 a little farther south.)

I also recommend that you park and check in at Terminal B. Even if your flight is leaving from a different terminal, checking in at B will save you a lot of time and hassle.

Hope this helps! Have a safe flight!

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This but in conroe when you hit loop 336 (walgreens on corner to left of intersection) take a right and you will bypass "in town" conroe traffic lights all the way to 45.

The problem with all of these routes is that you don't know what traffic will be doing and can't really avoid it at 7am. Plan for enough time to be in traffic at least 30 minutes with this route.

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My preferred route to IAH is Hwy 6 to Navasota, 105 to Conroe, I-45 to the Hardy Tollroad to IAH. You will need about $3 in tolls, I think.

(You can also miss some traffic on 105 by turning right on FM 2854 immediately after Montgomery. You will bypass Lake Conroe and most of Conroe and hit I-45 a little farther south.)

I also recommend that you park and check in at Terminal B. Even if your flight is leaving from a different terminal, checking in at B will save you a lot of time and hassle.

Hope this helps! Have a safe flight!
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This but in conroe when you hit loop 336 (walgreens on corner to left of intersection) take a right and you will bypass "in town" conroe traffic lights all the way to 45.

The problem with all of these routes is that you don't know what traffic will be doing and can't really avoid it at 7am. Plan for enough time to be in traffic at least 30 minutes with this route.

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THIS - I drive to Houston every week. I rarely run into traffic issues no matter what time of day I go. - Unless, heaven forbid - it's raining.

Leaving at 6, you'll have no problem making a 10:30 flight.

Even with the traffic you will hit, it won't take you more than 2 hours to get to the airport (6/290/bw8 should take about 1:30 to 1:45 even with traffic). Say 2 hours at worst, now you're at the airport with two and a half hours to spare before your flight. You'll be fine and even have time to change a tire should you have a flat on the way.

I find that flying directly there in an aircraft from the COLLEGE STATION AIRPORT is the best way. It is the most direct and very fast.

^^and pretty expensive!!

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I find that flying directly there in an aircraft from the COLLEGE STATION AIRPORT is the best way. It is the most direct and very fast.

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I usually do fly out of CLL for travel. However, we are a group of 6 this time. Even though I purchased these tickets last summer, it was still cost-prohibitive to fly all of us out of CLL.

I'd take the 290/beltway route. It isn't the shortest, but it's almost always the fastest. (We live about 10 miles east of IAH).

290 is a CF in the morning, but they're used to it and you don't really have to go far in traffic to get to the beltway. 290 moves, just not at highway speed. Just know where the exit is and don't wait till the last minute to get over to the right.

If anything happens on 45, they freak out.

If you have a smart phone, check on http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/layers/ once you get to closer. You can get an idea of what things look like.

oh, and if there are 6 of you, you can take the HOV from about Barker Cypress to the W. Little York Park & Ride and get on the beltway there.

Never tried it, it might be more trouble than it's worth.

Elsie is right on the money. I made this trip twice last week and used the 290/Sam Houston Toll Road route. Drop off was mid morning and no issues/not much in the way of traffic.

Pickup was a different story. I hit the toll road just in time for traffic to start getting heavy, plus it was raining. I left college station at 2:45 PM and arrived at IAH at 4:25 PM. There is a $1.50 toll each way.

We came home via the toll way to 249 through Tomball. No way was I about to hit 45 or 290 during 5 o'clock traffic.

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My preferred route to IAH is Hwy 6 to Navasota, 105 to Conroe, I-45 to the Hardy Tollroad to IAH. You will need about $3 in tolls, I think.

(You can also miss some traffic on 105 by turning right on FM 2854 immediately after Montgomery. You will bypass Lake Conroe and most of Conroe and hit I-45 a little farther south.)

I also recommend that you park and check in at Terminal B. Even if your flight is leaving from a different terminal, checking in at B will save you a lot of time and hassle.

Hope this helps! Have a safe flight!



This but in conroe when you hit loop 336 (walgreens on corner to left of intersection) take a right and you will bypass "in town" conroe traffic lights all the way to 45.

The problem with all of these routes is that you don't know what traffic will be doing and can't really avoid it at 7am. Plan for enough time to be in traffic at least 30 minutes with this route.

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This! Exact route I used to take for my weekly drive to IAH!

BurnetAg - That drive is much nicer and not as much traffic, but the crazy speed limits between Navasota to Montgomery and Conroe are just nuts! There is only a short section of road [closest to Navasota] where the speed limit is actually 70 MPH now. The rest is 60 MPH or less and its not easy to pass an entire line of cars until you hit Montgomery and there is more than 1 lane each direction!

[This message has been edited by Kattx07 (edited 3/26/2012 12:38p).]

6am is plenty of time to make a 1030 flight.

I have never had an issue with traffic on the 290/Beltway route. Fast and quick. Also, the suggestion to check in through Terminal B is on the mark. It tends to be one of the fastest ways through.

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the suggestion to check in through Terminal B is on the mark. It tends to be one of the fastest ways through.

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I'd put a qualifier on that and say this is valid if you aren't checking bags. If you check in at B and check you bag, and then your return flight comes back into C/D/E, you get your bags at C and will have to lug them back to B through the underground train. Terminal-Link is on the wrong side of security to use after you get your bags.

105 IS A DEATH TRAP. SCENIC AT SOME POINTS, BUT NOT WORTH IT.

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105 IS A DEATH TRAP. SCENIC AT SOME POINTS, BUT NOT WORTH IT.

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wat

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105 IS A DEATH TRAP. SCENIC AT SOME POINTS, BUT NOT WORTH IT.

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This could be said of many 2 lane highways in Texas. However, the things that contribute to that are usually:

Excessive speed (and this includes driving over roughly 60mph in the dark - visibility isn't good enough for more speed)

Inattentive drivers - and this includes YOU, the driver who is not texting or calling. You MUST look at every single driver on the road. You need to be aware that people speed, slow down and swerve because THEY are not paying attention.

Angry drivers - those who have had E-NUFF of the slow people in front of them and pass with complete disregard to the safety of themselves and others.

If you eliminate these things, it would make 105 and many other roads much more safe.

Edited because I don't always spell too good when I type fast.

[This message has been edited by OnlyANobody (edited 3/26/2012 8:02p).]

I've recently adjusted to the 105 - 45 route (from 6 - 290) and prefer all the 105 options listed.

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Excessive speed

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Since we're talking about 105, I would like to add insufficient speed as well.

6/290/8 is the way to go. You should be okay at 6am but rain is in the forecast. I'd leave at 5am and not worry about it. Grab breakfast at Pappadeaux at IAH and have a bloody Mary.

Interestingly, this:

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Since we're talking about 105, I would like to add insufficient speed as well.

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is covered by this:

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Angry drivers - those who have had E-NUFF of the slow people in front of them and pass with complete disregard to the safety of themselves and others.

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As I mentioned before, I travel this route once, often twice a week and round trip. Much of 105 is limited to speeds under 70 and as low as 35. But it is still an efficient route. When people get fed up and make dumb decisions is when it goes badly.

If one preferes higher allowed speeds, then s/he should take 290, but then - deal with the traffic that accompanies that choice.

edit: nevermind, we're essentially arguing the same thing!

[This message has been edited by rhoswen (edited 3/26/2012 8:19p).]

I don't know how long you will be gone but I have found a wonderful thing to do if you are leaving on an early morning flight.

Go to www.parksleepfly.com. They have a number of hotels where you spend the night, park your car for free while you are gone (usually free for 7 to 10 days), the hotel's shuttle takes you to the airport and picks you up. When I figured out the pricing for this last summer, I figured that stayed in a nice hotel for about $50, when you count in how much parking is. And, I didn't have to deal with rush hour traffic and the stress of driving early in the morning.
But, when I go to the airport I go Hwy. 6 to 290 to Beltway 8 to JFK Blvd.

And probably get breakfast too.

I always do the 105 route. It takes about an hour to get to Conroe, then about 20 min to get to the HTR. Smooth sailing from there. I park in the Ecopark lot which is the first lot off the toll rd and am usually at my GATE in 2 hrs total.

Just did that yesterday morn in fact.

I would avoid 105 personally. I live in the country and even I like big roads with 4 lanes. I say stick with 290 and the tollway. Which ever way you choose, stay safe.