A significant crash brought southbound traffic to a standstill on IH-45 at Tamina/Research Forest on Sunday, February 22, 2026, at 12:46 PM. The incident, reported through TranStar, created heavy congestion along one of the Houston area's busiest north-south corridors during the afternoon hours.
The crash occurred during a typically busy period for this stretch of highway, which funnels traffic from The Woodlands and northern Montgomery County toward downtown Houston and the surrounding metro area. Drivers heading south encountered substantial delays, with backup extending well beyond the immediate crash location. Those looking to avoid the gridlock had several options: northbound commuters could divert to FM 2978 or local roads through The Woodlands area, while southbound travelers might consider using US-59 as an alternate route, though that corridor was likely absorbing additional volume. Surface streets through Spring and Tomball offered another workaround for those with flexibility in their routes.
IH-45 at Tamina/Research Forest has long been a critical junction where traffic volume increases significantly as drivers merge from The Woodlands area heading toward Houston proper. This stretch typically experiences heavy weekend traffic as residents travel between the northern suburbs and central Houston attractions. The interchange sits near several major retail corridors and residential developments that feed consistent traffic onto the interstate throughout the day.
The southbound direction bore the brunt of the impact from this major incident. TranStar's initial report indicated the crash was still active during the afternoon, meaning the full extent of delays and lane disruptions remained in flux. Given the severity classification and the time of day, commute times for southbound travel climbed significantly, with some drivers facing delays extending 20 to 30 minutes beyond normal Sunday afternoon patterns. The spillover effects likely impacted adjacent routes as drivers sought alternatives to escape the congestion on the main highway.
Drivers in the area Sunday afternoon were advised to monitor traffic conditions closely before entering the affected corridor, particularly those heading toward the Tamina/Research Forest interchange on IH-45 southbound.
Prior to this incident, the location had recorded few or no crashes.
53 more crashes have been documented at this location since this incident. Major-severity incidents accounted for 51 of the total.
A short window saw several crashes at the location.
The aggregate count puts this location in the most active tier of county crash sites.
Reflecting incident data through May 26, 2026.
IH-45 Southbound at Tamina/Research Forest in Montgomery County
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.