Here are five things to know Thursday evening.
SAM HOUSTON TOLLWAY NB BACK OPEN
Houston traffic continues to frustrate drivers as the work week wraps up. But there was hope on Thursday evening!
Harris County Toll Road officials said all northbound lanes of the Sam Houston Tollway opened shortly after 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The southbound lanes could open next week, officials said.
The announcement comes after crews pumped standing water from Beltway 8 Thursday.
To read more, click here.
EQUIFAX BREACH EXPOSES SSN'S, OTHER DATA FOR 143M CUSTOMERS
Yikes! Credit monitoring company Equifax says a breach exposed social security numbers and other data from about 143 million Americans.
The Atlanta-based company said Thursday that "criminals" exploited a U.S. website application to access files between mid-May and July of this year.
It said consumers' names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, driver's license numbers were exposed. Credit card numbers for about 209,000 U.S. consumers were also accessed.
To read more, click here.
EZTAG LANES ARE STILL FREE
Good news! You can continue to use the Harris County Toll Road Authority. Those drivers with or without the tag can use the lanes on all HCTRA roads. There will be 24-hour notice before this changes.
⚠️NEWS UPDATE: #EZTAG lanes continue to be free of charge for #Houston drivers... Read more: https://t.co/Gk0xVmjdlx #HouTraffic #Harvey pic.twitter.com/Tq38vuVGDv
— HCTRA (@HCTRA) September 7, 2017
HCTRA released the following statement on their Facebook page.
NEWS UPDATE [09/07 - 12:15 PM]: #EZTAG lanes continue to be free of charge for drivers with and without an EZ TAG sticker on all HCTRA roads. We will give 24-hour notice to the public before we resume collecting tolls. To learn more about our roads, visit: bit.ly/2evrZ8l 📌. For tolling questions on SH-99/ Grand Parkway please contact TxTag directly. And remember, follow the green arrows thru the non-stop #EZTAG lanes. #GreenMeansGo
HISD TO START CLASSES ON A ROLLING SCHEDULE
Houston ISD schools will head back to class on a rolling schedule as campuses are deemed safe and ready for students and staff, Superintendent Richard Carranza said Thursday.
Carranza said 202 schools will start Monday, Sept. 11. Another 73 schools are still being evaluated.
Rolling starts are planned for the district's 215,000 students on Sept. 11, 18 and 25 as campuses are cleared for occupancy.
To read more, click here.
FLORIDA UNDER HURRICANE WATCH AS IRMA ROARS TOWARD U.S.
As Hurricane Irma barreled ever closer to the U.S. mainland, the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch Thursday for portions of the Sunshine State, placing the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade on track for a weekend arrival.
Irma, still a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 175 mph, left a trail of death and destruction across the Caribbean as it howled past Puerto Rico and headed toward the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
The center issued the hurricane watch for the Florida peninsula from Jupiter Inlet southward and around the peninsula to Bonita Beach, including the Florida Keys, Lake Okeechobee and Florida Bay. It also issued a storm surge watch for portions of south Florida and the Florida Keys.
To read more, click here.
