What happens if there's a major accident or closure on US 59? Drivers seek alternates. To date, Richmond Avenue has been a reliable backup but with lane reductions for the construction of light rail, where will drivers go?

	Westheimer is an 8-lane road... until it reaches the West Loop, after which point it shrinks to 4 lanes heading eastward. Lower Westheimer passes through the Montrose area, lines with busy antique shops on weekends. It is not a practical alternate to Richmond at all.

	W. Alabama St. is a 3-lane road running from just east of the Galleria to Main. As a result of recent work on 59, W. Alabama has time-dependant reversible lanes. As an alternate, W. Alabama may be closest, but it’s not wide enough to Richmond’s overflow.

	US 59 has feeder roads from the West Loop as far in as Greenbriar, but that’s where they end. US 59 was designed to be a retaining pool when flooding occurs. Richmond is needed as a backup route for US 59, especially for freight trucks and other large vehicles.

	Bissonnet St., is a 4-lane road east to Kirby Drive, at which point it becomes 2 lanes until is reaches Montrose Blvd. Bissonnet can’t handle a large amount of extra traffic from closures on the Southwest Freeway, or overflow traffic from Richmond Ave.