A significant crash brought eastbound traffic on US-290 to a crawl Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 PM on February 17, 2026, near the Tidwell Road interchange in northwest Harris County. The incident tied up the busy corridor during the height of the evening commute, creating backups that extended well beyond the immediate crash site.
The timing couldn't be worse for commuters trying to escape the northwest side during afternoon rush hour. Traffic backing up on US-290 eastbound typically spills onto feeder roads and creates gridlock on parallel routes like West 34th Street and Houston Avenue. Drivers looking to bypass the mess should consider using Spring-Studemont Road or connecting to North Freeway via the Hardy Toll Road as alternative corridors. Those heading toward downtown Houston might find better luck diverting to local streets through the Washington Avenue corridor, though that route carries its own congestion this time of day.
This stretch of US-290 serves as a critical artery for commuters traveling between northwest Houston neighborhoods like Spring Branch and the Uptown area. The Tidwell Road interchange sits in an area that handles significant daily traffic volume, with numerous businesses and residential areas feeding into the freeway. The location sits just west of where US-290 approaches the Hardy Toll Road junction, making it a bottleneck during peak travel times.
The crash blocked eastbound lanes, with TranStar initially reporting the major incident in the late afternoon. With a major crash at 4:00 PM on a Tuesday, commuters faced extended travel times through the evening commute period. Anyone using US-290 eastbound in this corridor Tuesday night should have expected significant delays as crews worked to clear the roadway.
HEADLINE: Major Crash on US-290 Eastbound at Tidwell Road Snarls Northwest Houston Traffic
This location had logged 11 crashes in the month before this incident occurred.
156 crashes have followed this incident at the same location. Major-severity incidents accounted for 118 of the total. 3 of the crashes since this incident was fatal.
Crashes have come more frequently at this location since this incident.
A burst of crashes followed within a compressed period.
Combined, those numbers put the location among the most active in the county.
Current through May 25, 2026.
US-290 Northwest Eastbound at Tidwell Rd
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.