A serious multi-vehicle collision brought eastbound traffic to a crawl on Interstate 610 near Ella Boulevard at 10:37 AM on Monday, February 09, 2026. Harris County emergency responders were dispatched to the scene after reports of injuries from the crash. The incident occurred during the tail end of the morning rush, when the Loop typically carries heavy volume heading toward the east side of Houston.
The backup quickly stretched across multiple miles of I-610 East, with delays extending well into nearby neighborhoods. Commuters heading toward Pasadena, Baytown, or the industrial corridor along the Ship Channel faced significant slowdowns. Drivers looking to bypass the congestion have several options: taking US-59 South and looping around, using surface streets like McGregor or Jensen Drive to navigate around the Loop, or waiting for the all-clear from the Harris County Sheriff's Office. The Greens Road area saw increased traffic as vehicles diverted off the eastbound Loop.
This stretch of I-610 East near Ella has long been a pinch point during peak hours. The area sits just north of downtown and serves as a critical artery for commercial traffic heading to the Houston Ship Channel refineries and petrochemical plants. With the proximity to the Greens, Settegast, and near-northside neighborhoods, the Loop here carries a steady stream of both commuter and truck traffic throughout the day. Incidents in this corridor tend to cascade quickly onto connecting highways and surface streets.
The eastbound lanes bore the brunt of the collision's impact. While the exact status of the roadway remained fluid in the hours following the crash, traffic was moving significantly slower than normal. Drivers were encountering delays of at least 20-30 minutes beyond typical travel times. The incident's severity meant that spillover effects would likely persist on northbound US-59 and the Hardy Toll Road as vehicles sought alternate routes away from the Loop.
The location had seen 12 crashes in the 30 days leading up to this incident.
178 more crashes at this location followed this incident. The breakdown includes 82 major collisions. 1 of those that followed this incident was fatal.
Crashes have accelerated at this location in the months since.
Several of the crashes occurred back-to-back within days of each other.
Together, the incidents make this stretch one of the most active in the county.
Data through May 29, 2026.
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.