A major crash brought significant delays to the IH-610 North Loop westbound at Hardy Toll Road/Spur 548 on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, around 7:21 PM. The incident, first reported to TranStar, created backup conditions during the critical evening commute period when thousands of drivers typically head west toward the Katy area and western Harris County suburbs.
The timing couldn't be worse for westbound travelers. This stretch of the North Loop feeds directly into one of Houston's busiest corridors, and a major incident here backs up traffic quickly all the way to the I-45 North interchange. Drivers looking to avoid the mess should consider routing south on I-45 to connect with I-10 West, or taking surface streets through the Heights and Montrose before heading west. Those heading toward Katy might also use US-290 as an alternative, though that route has its own congestion issues during rush hour. The Hardy Toll Road itself typically provides some relief for drivers willing to pay the toll, but its connection to the North Loop crash meant that escape route was compromised.
This particular stretch of the North Loop between I-45 and the Hardy toll interchange is notoriously congested. It's a gateway between central Houston and the rapidly growing communities of Spring, The Woodlands, and points north and west. The area near Hardy sees consistent heavy traffic from commuters exiting the toll road and merging with North Loop traffic, making it a natural pinch point during peak hours. Road work and routine incidents here regularly cascade into broader traffic problems across the region.
The westbound direction of the North Loop bore the brunt of the crash's impact. Traffic was backed up significantly, with delays expected to persist through the remainder of the evening drive home. Drivers in that corridor faced substantially longer commute times as the incident was being cleared. Anyone traveling on the North Loop westbound near Hardy during the evening hours should have expected major delays and sought alternate routes accordingly.
The month leading up to this incident brought 73 crashes to this location.
826 more crashes at this location followed this incident. 569 carried major-severity classification. 1 of the crashes after this one was fatal.
The location has logged crashes at a higher rate after this one.
Three of those crashes fell within a single week.
Adding those counts together places this location in the upper tier of county crash counts.
Data updated as of May 30, 2026.
IH-610 North Loop Westbound at Hardy Toll Rd/Spur 548
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.