A major collision shut down northbound lanes on Interstate 45 at State Highway 249 and Mount Houston Road at 9:07 PM Thursday night, creating heavy traffic backups across the North Houston corridor. Harris County authorities responded to the scene as TranStar reported the crash blocking multiple lanes during the evening commute window. The exact number of vehicles involved and any injuries remain under investigation.
Drivers heading north on I-45 faced significant delays as traffic diverted onto surface streets throughout the area. The northbound feeder road and local lanes near the Mount Houston interchange became congested as commuters sought alternate routes. Those traveling in the area should consider using SH 249 eastbound to connect with I-69/US-59 North, or taking FM 1960 as a bypass option for northbound travel. The backup extended well south of the crash site, affecting traffic flow toward the Woodlands and beyond.
This stretch of I-45 North near Mount Houston has emerged as a persistent trouble spot in Harris County. Over the past 30 days alone, the intersection has recorded 13 total incidents, with 9 classified as major. The corridor handles heavy mixed traffic—commuters heading toward The Woodlands and points north, commercial vehicles, and local traffic feeding from nearby neighborhoods. Congestion here regularly peaks during evening hours, making incident recovery times even more critical to overall network flow.
The northbound direction absorbed the primary impact of Thursday's crash. TranStar had not confirmed whether the incident had been fully cleared by late evening. Drivers heading north on I-45 in the coming hours should expect residual delays and possible lane restrictions as cleanup and investigation work continue. Expect slower speeds through the Mount Houston area even after initial reopening.
14 crashes had already been logged at this location in the 30 days before this incident.
Crashes at this location have continued — 94 more have been recorded since. Among them, 77 were major crashes.
Incidents have been arriving more often at this location since.
Several of the incidents hit within days of one another.
That places this location among the highest-incident segments in the county.
Reflecting incident data through May 29, 2026.
IH-45 North Northbound at SH 249/ Mount Houston Rd
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.