A major crash on the southbound US-59 exit ramp at Kirby brought traffic to a halt early Thursday morning. The incident happened at 3:17 AM on May 28, and crews responded to clear the debris-strewn roadway.
This stretch of US-59 near Shepherd Drive has become a persistent trouble spot. According to LocalTrafficAccidents.com data, the corridor logged 108 incidents over the past 30 days — with 49 of those classified as major. Over the past year, the location has seen 391 total incidents, including 180 major crashes. The numbers underscore why even an off-peak incident here draws immediate attention.
What makes this location particularly volatile isn't just the sheer count — it's the pattern. While this location sees its heaviest crash activity on Tuesdays (43 incidents in the past 90 days) and peaks during the 1 PM–2 PM window (18 crashes), the data shows that roughly 70% of all incidents here happen outside of traditional rush hours. That means this isn't a congestion-driven phenomenon. Something about this exit ramp geometry or sight lines keeps triggering crashes at all hours, day and night.
Thursday's early-morning incident unfolded in clear conditions — few clouds, 67 degrees — so weather wasn't a factor. The time of day (off-peak) likely meant crews had easier access to the scene and faster clearance than they'd see during daylight hours. Harris County overall recorded 19,606 incidents over the same 30-day period that saw this single corridor accumulate 108 of them.
Exact injury counts and lane-closure details weren't immediately available, but the incident was significant enough to warrant immediate response. If you were traveling southbound on US-59 in the early morning hours Thursday, this is what slowed you down.
The southbound exit ramp at Kirby is expected to return to normal operations shortly as crews wrap recovery efforts.
Update (11:20 AM CT): The major crash at SUS59OB-SHEPHERD DR S S US 59 FWY @ KIRBY EXIT RAMP, first reported at 3:17 AM, has cleared after more than 8 hours. All lanes have reopened and normal traffic flow has resumed in the area.
Sources: TxDOT Crash Records Information System and Local Traffic Accidents database. Counts through October 1, 2026.
The 30 days preceding this crash saw 108 crashes at this same location.
The location has seen 235 additional incidents since this crash. Of those, 104 were major collisions.
The location has seen fewer crashes per week since this incident.
Some of those crashes hit in close succession.
The combined before-and-after total places this location in the upper tier of county incident counts.
Reflecting incident data through October 08, 2026.
SUS59OB-SHEPHERD DR S S US 59 FWY @ KIRBY EXIT RAMP
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.