A significant crash brought southbound traffic to a crawl on the East Sam Houston Tollway at Crenshaw on Thursday, February 12, 2026, around 6:50 PM. The incident occurred during the height of the evening commute, backing up vehicles across multiple lanes and creating delays that rippled through the entire southeast Houston corridor.
Commuters heading south on the Sam Houston system should expect extended travel times through at least the 8 PM hour. Anyone caught in this stretch should consider rerouting via the Gulf Freeway (I-45) or taking local roads through Pearland and the surrounding areas. The Beltway 8 heading east toward Pasadena offers another viable alternative for drivers trying to bypass the congestion entirely. Those with flexibility should delay their southbound trip if possible until traffic clears.
This section of the East Sam Houston Tollway carries heavy afternoon and evening traffic from the southeast Houston communities—particularly Pearland, Friendswood, and Alvin—heading toward downtown and the western suburbs. The Crenshaw area marks a crucial junction where the tollway intersects with several commercial corridors and residential access points. Major incidents here typically create significant backup because there's limited alternative capacity during peak hours.
Southbound lanes of the East Sam Houston were significantly impacted by the crash. As of the latest TranStar reports, recovery efforts were underway, though the full scope of the incident remained fluid. Residual delays will likely persist even after the roadway clears, as vehicles work through the backlog. Drivers heading south on the tollway over the next couple hours should be prepared for slower-than-normal conditions and allow extra time for their commute.
Before this incident, the location had little recent crash history.
In the period since this crash, 3 additional incidents have occurred here. 3 carried major-severity classification.
Counts reflect data through May 25, 2026.
East Sam Houston Tollway Southbound at Crenshaw
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.