Baytown to Katy, Cypress, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Galveston: the cross-town drives

For the plant family with relatives on the other side of Houston, the job interview in Katy, the game in The Woodlands or the beach day. Times outside rush hour; add thirty to sixty minutes for the Loop at five.

West and north — through or around the city. - Katy — about an hour: I-10 straight west through downtown. Fifty miles of the same highway; at rush hour, ninety minutes and the Katy Freeway earns its reputation. - Cypress — about an hour: I-10 to the Beltway or 610, then 290 north-west. The Beltway route dodges downtown. - Sugar Land — about an hour: I-10, then the Beltway south to 59/69, or 610 to 59. Bring a toll tag. - The Woodlands — about an hour: the Beltway or 610 north to 45; or 90 to the Grand Parkway, which avoids the city entirely and is the plant families' route. - Humble, Kingwood, IAH — 40 to 45 minutes: the Beltway or 90 north; the airport. - Downtown Houston — 35 to 45 minutes: I-10 west.

South — over the bridge. - Pasadena, Deer Park, La Porte — 15 to 25 minutes over the Fred Hartman Bridge; the union halls, the other plants, Sylvan Beach. - Clear Lake, League City, Kemah — 30 to 40 minutes: 146 south. The easy side. - Pearland — 45 minutes: 146 south, then 225 or the Beltway. - Hobby Airport — 40 to 50 minutes: 146 to 225 to the Loop, or the Beltway. - Galveston — an hour and ten: 146 south all the way to the causeway, or 146 to 45 at League City. The beach, the Strand and the region's B&Bs.

East — the other direction. - Anahuac — 25 to 40 minutes: I-10 east to 61 or 563; the refuge and the birding. - Winnie and Bolivar — Winnie is 40 minutes on I-10; Bolivar is another 40 down 124 to the beach, or the Galveston ferry from the other end. - Beaumont — an hour and a quarter on I-10 east; the other refinery town.

The tools. A toll tag — EZ TAG from HCTRA, the county's toll-road authority — pays for itself in a month on the Beltway and the Grand Parkway. The Grand Parkway is the way around the city from Baytown to anything north or west, and it's the route nobody from Houston thinks to tell you. The Fred Hartman Bridge is free, and so is the Lynchburg Ferry — free since 1888, and run today by HCTRA, the same authority that sells the toll tag. Shift change on 146 adds twenty minutes to any of these at the Baytown end, and a turnaround week adds it twice a day.

Questions people ask. How far is Baytown from Katy? About fifty miles, an hour, I-10 the whole way; ninety at rush hour. Baytown to The Woodlands? An hour by the Grand Parkway, which avoids the city. Baytown to Sugar Land? An hour, Beltway south with a toll tag. Baytown to Galveston? An hour and ten down 146. Baytown to Hobby Airport? 40 to 50 minutes; to IAH, 40 to 45.

En español. Los trayectos de Baytown al otro lado de Houston: Katy, una hora por la I-10 (hora y media en hora pico); Cypress, una hora por el Beltway y la 290; Sugar Land, una hora por el Beltway sur (con tag de peaje); The Woodlands, una hora por el Grand Parkway, que rodea la ciudad; Pearland, 45 minutos; Clear Lake y Kemah, 30 a 40; Pasadena, Deer Park y La Porte, 15 a 25 por el puente; Galveston, una hora y diez por la 146; Anahuac, 25 a 40 al este; Beaumont, hora y cuarto. El tag EZ TAG de HCTRA se paga solo en un mes. El puente Fred Hartman y el ferry de Lynchburg son gratis.