Community Forums

blade76 · 04-22-2021, 08:45 PM

Last second plea! Traveling from Vidalia, LA, to west side of Houston tomorrow. Anyone know whether I-10 through Lake Charles is reasonably passable now? A couple years ago road work along there made passage hazardous in a motorhome and the roadway was so bad it felt as though our coach would shake apart! We swore we’d never go that route again, but our RV Garmin won’t show us an acceptable path around.

DandyDon · 04-22-2021, 09:01 PM

Just went through there a couple days ago. It was a bit rough but our coach seems to still be in one piece. Stayed at the KOA in Lake Charles. OK place but pricey.

rk911 · 04-22-2021, 09:53 PM

coming down US165 pick up LA12 at Kinder and follow that west. LA12 becomes TX 12 which will terminate at I-10 at Vidor TX east of Beaumont. we found 12 to be a good 2-lane road with not much traffic. we did it in a 40' class A towing a Jeep SUV...no problems. a very viable alternative to I-10 thru LA.

Isaac-1 · 04-23-2021, 12:08 AM

I live in SW Louisiana (50 miles north of Lake Charles), and when I am going to Houston I often take the LA12 / TX12 route to I-10 in Vidor, TX, there is no reason to go out of your way to get to I-10. It will shave 5 or so miles off your trip, plus you get to avoid the tall bridges over the Calcasieu river in Lake Charles. Though there may be a couple of miles or road work on TX-12 getting into Vidor, when I was last down that way several months ago construction was just starting on widening the road. US-190 from Kinder to Ragley, which turns into LA12 from Ragley to the Texas line is overall a good 2 lane road with paved shoulders, (TX-12 is 4 lane in places), maybe 2-3 miles of semi-rough pavement on the west side of DeQuincy.

Depending on where you are going in Houston, you might also consider US-190 to Livingston, then down US59 / future I69. From Vidalia take US84 to Alexandria, LA28 to Leesville (4 lane divided highway), US171 down to DeRidder (4 land also), and US190 west into Texas (2 lane with paved shoulders). If you go this way DO NOT take LA 8 /TX63 to save miles (narrow low clearance bridge going into Texas) or the 3026 bypass around DeRidder (rough pavement, needs repaving).

Generally if we are going to the airport in Houston (IAH Bush on the north side) we will take the US 190 route, if going to downtown or points south we will take La12/Tx12 to Beaumont, and either I-10 on across to Houston or US 90 which also goes Beaumont to Houston as a surface highway (more direct route, but some small towns).

Note also even back highways in Texas have 70-75 mph speed limits.

Americanrascal · 04-23-2021, 04:31 AM

I ran on I-10 from Columbus TX (west of Houston) to Mobile about a week ago. Never again for me. What should have been an 8 hr run took over 13 swith accidents and truck back ups. The road from Columbus east to Baton Rouge is simply awful and is a pitiful excuse for an Interstate highway IMHO. Road surface conditions were deplorable, lane shifts and construction barriers were miserable due to the ongoing construction along that corridor. Combined with heavy truck and general urban traffic it is not RV friendly. I have moved all my east west travel north to I-20 (Shreveport is no fun either) and I-40.

TXiceman · 04-23-2021, 09:28 AM

The section of I-10 from Beaumont to the LA border has been under de-construction what seems forever. The LA portion is not too bad, but not the best. Getting through Houston area is a roll of the dice depending on construction and accidents. You never know when some idiots decides to crash into another idiot.

Your best bet on a route through Houston is to pal to hit if no earlier than 9AM and be gone by 3PM. You really need to check the TXDOT website and Houston's Transtar website to see what is closed down. There have been total freeway shutdowns starting at 9PM on Friday and opening again at 5 or 6 AM Monday.

You can always take the long way around Houston on the Grand Parkway toll road. It is EXPENSIVE if you have 4 or 5 axles and no toll tag. There are no cash toll pay stations. There is an extra fee to get your tolls by mail.

A little closer in to Houston is the Sam Houston toll road or Beltway 8 which has toll booths, but not at all entrances and exits. During rush hours, this can really slow down.

Safe travels.
Ken

Isaac-1 · 04-23-2021, 09:34 AM

The other option is to go way out of your way to avoid Houston if you are going to points west, such as by taking TX105 from Beaumont to Brenham then cutting back down to I-10 on any one of a number of possible routes.

blade76 · 04-23-2021, 01:04 PM

Thanks everyone! Just made it through. Hwy 12 to Vidor worked great. I-10 past Beaumont was an ugly surprise- I-10 is diverted onto what seemed a very narrow two lane access road, but survivable (45 ft coach and tow). Heading to a new RV park on I-10 near Katy for the night (Summer Breeze), then on to San Antonio. We’ll just have to suffer through Houston, I guess!

DKRITTER · 04-25-2021, 07:47 AM

We spend several weeks a year in Marksville, LA. Last September we came in from SW of Houston spent the night in Beaumont and went I-10 to 165 to Marksville and had no issues with the road at all in LA. Houston is a whole other story.

Looks like we should have taken 12.