A crash tied up I-45 Gulf southbound at Edgebrook Drive and Clearwood Drive at 5:39 AM on Wednesday, July 22, adding to a stretch of road that's seen an extraordinary number of wrecks in recent months.
This location has become one of the Houston region's most crash-prone corridors. According to LocalTrafficAccidents.com data, the area around Edgebrook and Clearwood has recorded 65 incidents over the past 30 days—21 of them major crashes. Over the past three months, that number climbs to 167 total incidents, with 73 classified as major.
Looking deeper into state crash records, the corridor has seen 1,032 crashes within roughly a quarter-mile since January 2020, per TxDOT CRIS public crash records. Contributing factors as recorded by the investigating officer show "Failed To Control Speed" as the leading factor, cited in 298 crashes. Hit-and-runs also plague the area: 14.3% of all vehicle units involved in crashes here leave the scene without stopping.
This particular wreck struck early, well before the typical southbound surge. While the busiest hour at this corridor falls between 3 and 4 PM on weekdays—when the LTA database tracks 11 crashes—crashes here happen around the clock. Saturdays see the single highest incident count in any 24-hour period, with 29 crashes recorded over the past three months.
Conditions at the time were scattered clouds and 79 degrees—decent driving weather—but the road's pattern of speed-related crashes suggests that time of day and visibility alone don't tell the whole story.
If you're heading south on I-45 through this area, consider Hardy Toll Road as an alternative, or take SH-249 to the northwest and work your way back. Local routes via Airline Drive can also bypass the corridor, depending on your destination. Check real-time conditions before you head out; even early-morning hours don't guarantee smooth flow along this stretch.
**Update (6:45 AM CT):** The major crash at IH-45 Gulf Southbound at Edgebrook Dr/Clearwood Dr, first reported at 5:39 AM, has cleared after approximately 1 hour and 6 minutes. All lanes have reopened and normal traffic flow has resumed in the area.
IH-45 Gulf Southbound at Edgebrook Dr/Clearwood Dr
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.