Street closures, detours and other traffic related information regarding the Convention District Transformation Project are outlined below.
Polk Street - November 2025
- Polk Street is currently closed to vehicle traffic between Chartres Street and Avenida de las Americas.
- As of November 21, the sidewalk of Polk has been reopened to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
- The closure is permitted through Houston Public Works with standard traffic control plans in place.
- Motorists accessing Downtown destinations from northbound I-59 are encouraged to exit at West Gray and take Pease St. or St. Joseph Pkwy. into Downtown.
- Motorists traveling into Downtown from EaDo/East End are encouraged to take Pease St. or St. Joseph Pkwy.
- Work that will take place on and around Polk in the coming months includes but is not limited to:
- Demolition of GRB ramp over Polk Street
- Demolition of current Rustic location
- Utility waterline work
- Avenida South Garage electrical work
- GRB skybridge demolition
- Avenida South Garage demolition
- Houston First continues to coordinate closely with the City of Houston, TxDOT, and partners to ensure the safety and accessibility of travelers throughout this project.
Street Closures - October 2025
- Chenevert Street (Between Pease Street and Leeland Street)
- Hamilton Street (Between Polk Street and Leeland Street) A portion will remain open for Rustic and authorized construction traffic only.
- Bell Street (Between Jackson Street and Hamilton Street) All lanes are closed.
- Chenevert Street (Between Bell Street and Clay Street) This section is closed.
- Clay Street (Between Hamilton Street and Jackson Street) The south 2 lanes are closed.
Click here to see additional closures in the area tied to TxDOT's NHHIP project.
Polk/Avenida Signage - May 2025
- Houston First has requested that additional sections of Avenida de las Americas and Polk Street immediately adjacent to the Hilton-Americas be transferred from the City to Houston First for ongoing operation/maintenance.
- These streets are not being closed but rather will fall under the purview of Houston First to maintain in a manner similar to the existing section of Avenida de las Americas that fronts the GRB Convention Center.
- This is the same process used in 2016 to acquire management over that section of ADLA.
Click here to see additional closures in the area tied to TxDOT's NHHIP project.
Click here to see a current view of the project site.
Traffic Study & Public Engagement
Transcend Engineers + Planners LLC conducted a comprehensive traffic study to examine the impact of the GRB transformation project. Below are links to an executive summary as well as the full study.
Executive Summary
Houston First hosted a public meeting on July 1 at the GRB to convey information about the traffic study and other details on the impact of the transformation project. Click the links below to see the presentation from that meeting as well as a list of answers to questions submitted during that meeting and subsequently.
July 1 Public Meeting Presentation
Questions & Answers: Tranformation Project, Polk Street & Traffic Study - Updated July 28