HOUSTON — We’re digging into your questions about the traffic mess at Bush Airport. After hundreds of you got stuck in a parking garage backup on Sunday night, we heard from many of you who say gridlock at the airport is a regular problem.
We're also getting answers and a progress report on some of the big projects contributing to the traffic.
One of the biggest headaches is the pickup lane at the international arrivals terminal. During the construction, there is one temporary pickup lane for cars that travelers say is regularly bumper to bumper.
Traveling into and out of Bush Airport was easier 35 years ago, says one longtime resident.
“I don’t understand why for two or three years probably, it has become a nightmare to come to the airport or leave the airport,” Jacques Orban told KHOU 11.
Others who visit Houston every year feel the same.
“I can’t see any more [progress]," said traveler Kanan Shah. "Due to that there is a lot of traffic, takes a lot of time for people to come to the airport [for pickup]."
“What we’re faced with on a daily basis is we’re trying to do heart surgery on a marathon runner,” Airport Director Jim Szczesniak said in his second conversation with us this week.
He blames many of the airport traffic issues on a temporary international arrivals pickup lane. Szczesniak says the temporary pickup lane will close by Christmas. That’s when the new arrival lanes will be open.
“We’ve got a curb right now that has one lane versus a curb that’s going to have eight lanes," he said. "So a big difference in the capacity for pickups at international arrivals."
That fix can’t account for Sunday’s traffic nightmare, when an accident blocked the Terminal C/D/E garage exit, leaving travelers stuck for hours.
Since that story, many KHOU 11 viewers have reached out saying the problems go beyond that accident. May say that the credit card readers to exit the parking lots do not work.
Szczesniak says they are doing a completely new revenue control system.
“We completed EcoPark 2 here at Bush," he said. "We’re working on Hobby right now. We’ll be back up after the summer to do Bush, but it will be a completely new system. The great thing about it, with this system, it’ll have the most advanced features.”
The Houston Airport System says it will be replacing all existing credit card readers and adding card-less lanes. Travelers who make a parking reservation online will be able to drive up to a gate, enter, and park. When you leave, the gate will read your license plate and you will get a parking invoice emailed to you.
The complete parking revenue control program will be done by June 2025. The Houston Airport System recognizes that construction projects can pose challenges.
“The good thing is, not only is the light at the end of the tunnel. We can see the tunnel exit. A lot of the roadway challenges we are facing now are about to be solved in the near future."
The Airport System encourages people to visit its website, which explains some of the different construction projects.