A major crash brought southbound traffic to a crawl on I-45 near FM-2351/Clear Lake City Boulevard at 6:37 AM Tuesday morning, disrupting the start of the morning commute across Harris County. The collision occurred during peak drive time, when thousands of Clear Lake-area residents typically head toward downtown Houston and beyond.
The timing couldn't be worse for commuters. With the crash occurring during the heart of the morning rush, backup stretched well into the Clear Lake City area and backed up traffic on northbound I-45 as rubbernecking slowed the opposing lanes. Drivers heading south toward NASA and the Gulf Coast faced significant delays. Those looking to avoid the gridlock have options: the parallel Sam Houston Parkway provides a viable detour, though it too carries heavy traffic during morning hours. Eastbound FM-2351 toward Highway 146 offers another alternative for those heading toward the coast, while drivers bound for downtown might consider routing through League City and taking Texas 288 northbound to connect with I-610.
This stretch of I-45 between the Clear Lake area and Galveston carries some of the region's most consistent traffic volume, especially during morning hours. The corridor serves as the primary route for workers heading to the Johnson Space Center, the Port of Houston, and countless refineries and petrochemical facilities dotting the Gulf Coast. The FM-2351 interchange itself sits at a critical juncture where local Clear Lake City traffic merges with through-traffic heading south. While not historically one of I-45's most dangerous corridors, this area sees regular congestion that can turn volatile during unexpected incidents.
The southbound direction bore the brunt of the impact from the crash. The incident was still impacting traffic flow well into the mid-morning hours. Commuters traveling I-45 south should anticipate extended delays if passing through this area and consider alternative routes until normal traffic patterns resume.
Prior to this incident, the location had recorded few or no crashes.
In the period since this crash, 22 additional incidents have occurred here. 22 of the crashes that followed were major.
A cluster of those crashes happened within roughly two weeks.
The combined before-and-after total places this location in the upper tier of county incident counts.
Current through May 22, 2026.
IH-45 Gulf Southbound at FM-2351/Clear Lake City Blvd
Harris County, Texas
This report was produced by LTA's editor-designed production system under the executive editorial direction of Dennis R. Mundy, Executive Editor. The system combines our proprietary data pipeline with AI-assisted drafting to deliver verified incident coverage to LTA's editorial standards.