OKRoads -- Sam Houston Parkway (Beltway 8)

Beltway 8 surrounds Houston at approximately a 15-mile radius around downtown. The Sam Houston Parkway is the toll-free portion between the northern junction with Interstate 45 and the Ship Channel Bridge just south of the eastern junction with Interstate 10. In other words, the Sam Houston Parkway is the northeast quadrant of Beltway 8. Between U.S. 59 and U.S. 90, the parkway consists of frontage roads because current traffic counts do not warrant a freeway.

Outer Loop
	Beltway 8 North approaching Interstate 10 - 1/4 mile, and Market St. - 1/2 mile. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 North at Interstate 10 - Houston/Beaumont. A 70-mile drive separates this interchange from Beaumont. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 North at Market St. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 North approaching Woodforest Blvd. - 3/4 mile, as traffic from Interstate 10 prepares to merge onto the beltway. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	The right lane, which merges on from Interstate 10, becomes an exit-only lane to Woodforest Blvd. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 North at Woodforest Blvd. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 North approaching Wallisville Rd. - 1 mile. This is the final interchange before the freeway ends. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 North approaching Wallisville Rd. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 North at Wallisville Rd. The freeway ends in 1 1/4 miles before the U.S. 90 intersection. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 North approaching U.S. 90. The freeway ends in 1/2 mile, but the speed limit remains 60 on the frontage road-only portion of the beltway. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	All traffic must exit here before the U.S. 90 intersection. The western end of the U.S. 90 freeway also occurs in the immediate area. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 North at U.S. 90 East. U.S. 90 and Beltway 8 have a short duplex. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 North/U.S. 90 West at U.S. 90 West. The beltway crosses railroad tracks just past U.S. 90. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Sam Houston Parkway sign on Beltway 8 West. There are two or three such assemblies on this section of the outer loop. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West near U.S. 59. The beltway becomes a freeway just ahead, and motorists are advised to stay to the left to stay on the beltway. To access U.S. 59, stay to the right. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West approaching Lee Rd./Vickery Rd. - 1/2 mile. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West at Lee Rd./Vickery Rd. The exit ramps departs on the west side of the stack interchange at U.S. 59, completed in the early 2000s. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West pull-through panel just west of U.S. 59. The next interchange is one mile ahead at JFK Blvd., the main north-south road into the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West approaching JFK Blvd. There are six through lanes on this section of Beltway 8, with the addition of an outside lane between interchanges. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West 1/4 mile from JFK Blvd. JFK Blvd. is the toll-free way into the airport. A toll connector between the airport and the Hardy Toll Road to the west was completed in 2000. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West at JFK Blvd. Flyover ramps connect Beltway 8 East to JFK Blvd. North and JFK Blvd. South to Beltway 8 East. As for the westbound direction, sorry, there are no flyovers for you. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West approaching Aldine-Westfield Rd. - 3/4 mile. Notice all of the traffic preparing to merge from JFK Blvd. Good thing we're not in the right lane! (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West approaching Aldine-Westfield Rd. - 1/4 mile. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West at Aldine-Westfield Rd. Notice the difference in the amount of traffic between this picture and the last one. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West approaching the Hardy Toll Road - 1/2 mile. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West at the Hardy Toll Road. The toll road connects Interstate 610, Beltway 8, and Interstate 45. For pictures of the toll road, please visit the Hardy Toll Road guide. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West approaching Imperial Valley Dr. - 1 mile. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West at Imperial Valley Dr. The ramp on the left carries eastbound traffic to northbound Hardy. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West approaching Greenspoint Dr. - 3/4 mile. Unknown to us yet is that Interstate 45 is about 1 1/4 miles ahead. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West at Greenspoint Dr. Also on the sign bridge is the first warning of the Interstate 45 juncture, which is now just 1/4 mile away. Use this exit to access the Greenspoint Mall, which offers 1.7 million square feet of shopping. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West at Interstate 45 - Downtown/Dallas. The Sam Houston Tollway begins in 1 1/2 miles. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West approaching the Sam Houston Tollway - 1 mile. The tollway has seven toll booths, with six of them charging $1.25 for a 2-axle vehicle and the other one charging $2. All this, and the tollway is only about 60 miles long. Nothing like paying $9.50 in tolls to drive 60 miles. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	The final westbound exit before the tollway begins serves the frontage road, which continues the Beltway 8 designation because the tollway lanes themselves are solely signed as the Sam Houston Tollway. The ramp also serves Ella Blvd. and Greens Crossing Blvd. (Photo taken 3/16/05)
	Beltway 8 West at the Sam Houston Tollway. The Beltway 8 designation departs to the right. We will now prepare to contribute a total of $11 to the Harris County Toll Road Authority for one full trip around the tollway plus two extra tolls for the section between here and Interstate 10, which we drove twice on this day. (Photo taken 3/16/05)