I-45 northbound crash at Tidwell; 37 incidents in 30 days

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A motor vehicle incident on I-45 northbound at the Tidwell exit ramp early Thursday morning, June 11, 2026, around 1:06 AM has added to what's become a persistent problem corridor in Harris County.

The crash occurred during the overnight hours when traffic is typically light, but the location itself tells the real story. According to LocalTrafficAccidents.com data, this stretch of I-45 northbound near the Airline Drive area has recorded 37 incidents over the past 30 days alone—18 of them classified as major. Over the past 90 days, the corridor has logged 151 total incidents, including 75 major crashes and 2 fatalities.

The incident was cleared by responding officers, though specific details on lane closures and traffic duration were not immediately available.

What makes this corridor stand out isn't just the raw count—it's the consistency. Data shows crashes here occur at varied times rather than clustering in a single window, though the single busiest hour for crashes at this location is 6 to 7 AM, when 11 crashes were recorded over the 90-day period. On Saturdays, the location sees the highest daily incident count at 27 crashes over 90 days. The most common type of incident recorded here is minor crashes, yet major incidents still represent a significant portion of daily activity.

TxDOT CRIS public crash records from January 2020 to the present document 1,550 crashes within about a quarter-mile of this corridor, with 6 fatalities. Contributing factors as recorded by the investigating officer, per TxDOT CRIS, show "Failed To Control Speed" as the most common cited factor across 703 of those crashes. The hit-and-run rate at the corridor sits at 12.8%, meaning roughly one in eight crashes involves a driver who doesn't remain at the scene.

Weather at the time of the Thursday morning incident was clear—broken clouds and 81 degrees—so conditions were not a factor in this particular crash.

For drivers heading northbound on I-45 during the Thursday morning commute, conditions should return to normal as the incident clears. The stretch remains one of the most active corridors in the 13-county region, and commuters using this route should expect continued heavy incident activity, particularly during peak morning and afternoon windows.

**Update (9:10 AM CT):** The major crash at IH45OB-AIRLINE DR N IH 45 FWY @ TIDWELL EXIT RAMP, first reported at 1:06 AM, has cleared after more than 8 hours. All lanes have reopened and normal traffic flow has resumed in the area.