US 59-IH 610 interchange to get major overhaul

For many commuters living around the Galleria area, traffic on IH 610 at US 59 is almost always at a standstill. Now, the Texas Department of Transportation is finally going to fix the problem that has plagued the area for years.

To understand the problem, you have to look at the stretch of IH 610 between IH 10 and US 59 on the west side. With exits at nearly every major intersection, traffic seems to always back up. Another problem is there is no direct interchange from IH 10 to US 59. Commuters are forced to get on IH 610 and then sit in traffic until getting off on US 59. Another problem lies in the design of the interchange itself. While it is a traditional flyover type of interchange, the influx of traffic around the Galleria trying to get on either 610 or 59 has created a real mess.

When TXDOT completed the IH 10 to US 290/IH 610 interchange, they could have also set their sights on fixing the backlog of traffic around the Galleria. This did not happen. Now, officials once again have to shut down a major interchange in order to fix the traffic nightmare.

The six year project is already underway. Some exits in the Bellaire area are already closed off. This includes some exits around the busy Meyerland Plaza shopping mall. Fournace Street exit off 610 is already closed off.

One of the main problems is the interchange design. On some parts, two lanes merge into one before entering the freeway main lanes. This forces traffic to merge and causes major traffic jams throughout the day. Another problem is the location of the interchange. With all the traffic around the Galleria, there really is no way to get on IH 610 or US 59 from the Galleria without backtracking. This also causes a lot of traffic jams during the day.

The biggest improvement will be to the ramps connecting US 59 and IH 610. The first thing that will change are the one lane connection ramps. These will be widened to two lanes to eliminate major weaving. Upgrades to the interchange itself will bring it up to current design standards. Vertical clearance and sight lines will also be improved. Detention ponds will be added to control flooding.

An article in the Houston Press said that anyone who has had the unfortunate luck of spending even a few minutes on Highway 290 between the North Loop and Cypress knows that “gridlock” can be a relative term. This entire stretch of road is also being widened because of an increase in traffic. As  the expansion of the ever congested thoroughfare continues through the end of 2017, all Houston drivers can do is lament the closures and do their best to avoid the area. If you don't live or work on the northwest side of town, that certainly helps.

But what is going to happen when what is arguably the worst freeway interchange in the state of Texas is rebuilt will make the 290 construction traffic look like a broken stoplight at 10:30 p.m. on a Sunday night in the country. For most Houstonians, the greatest concern will be the plan to completely redo the interchange at US 59 and the West Loop. It is one of the most congested interchanges in the state of Texas thanks to its proximity to the Galleria and one of the most affluent parts of Houston.

Given how awful the traffic is at nearly every hour of every day, the change should be welcome, but it comes at a price. The project is expected to take four years beginning in 2017. For those who aren't great at math, that means we will be dealing with a mess on the southwest corner of the Loop through 2021. For perspective, the miles-long stretch of 290 has been under construction for four years already and it has felt like a decade. Now, apply that torture to the most congested freeway intersection in Texas.

So, get ready, drivers. It's going to be a long four years. And, if you live in the already terribly traffic laden Galleria area, our best advice is to consider moving.

The project also addresses several needs. Many of the one-lane direct connectors are over capacity and projected growth would increase demand. There are no shoulders, low vertical clearances, below minimum sight distances, and crashes in merge areas. This all equates to major backup and delays in the area around the Galleria.

Hopefully the new connector ramps will improve traffic flow and help to ease congestion on the two freeways. Only time will tell if the project not only was done correctly, but also will pay off in the long run.

Opioid Epidemic Knows No Boundaries

By now, we have heard about the rise in deaths related to opioid abuse. What many people fail to realize is that addiction usually starts with the street drug heroin. When injected, heroin induces a high that can last for a long time. It also is why many people choose to shoot up with it. When the supply runs out, they turn to opioids.

Oxycodone, OxyContin, Fentanyl, and other powerful pain medicines have surged into homes. Normally used after surgery to ease pain, these same drugs have found their way into the hands of corrupt doctors. These so-called pill mills churn out pain killers in large quantities. All it takes is a person faking a major injury to start the cycle of addiction. Once hooked, quitting is almost impossible.

Why is quitting almost impossible after a person is addicted? The reason is that opioids are more powerful than the average pain killer. This leads to needing more of the same drug to produce a high.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine and Doctor Anna Lembke, prescription opioid abuse is an epidemic. In 2010 alone, there were a reported 2.4 million opioid abusers in the U.S. alone. The number of new abusers had increased a staggering 225% between 1992 and 2000.

Over half of the abused opioids come from a doctor's prescription. In many instances, these same doctors are fully aware of the fact their patients are addicted, yet these drugs are still prescribed. In fact, many patients who are abusing these medications are not using them for the intended use or are diverting them to others who in turn get hooked.

Recent changes in the philosophy of pain treatment, cultural trends in attitudes toward suffering, and financial disincentives for treating addiction have only made the problem worse.

Over the last century, and especially as morphine derived drugs increased, a paradigm shift occurred. Today, pain management and treatment are every doctor’s responsibility. In today's society, treating pain is seen as the only option in modern medicine. There are other ways to treat pain without resorting to opioids right away. Tylenol and Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs, or NSAIDs can be just as beneficial and have a lower rate of addiction.

When a physician colleague that Dr. Lembke knew was asked how they deal with the problem of opioid addiction in patients who abuse them, the answer was that sometimes the right thing has to be done and not give the opioids out. The physician also knew that this action could lead to a bad rating on Yelp. This leaves someone to wonder about the other times that opioids are intentionally given to abusers.

A cultural change has also contributed to physicians' dilemma that all suffering is avoidable. Some segments of our society believe that any kind of pain is a pathological indicator and amendable to treatment.

Some segments of society also believe untreated pain can cause a psychic scar leading to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Doctors who deny patients who report feeling pain may be seen as withholding relief and inflicting further harm through psychological trauma.

No one understands this better than addicted patients, who use their awareness of cultural narratives of victimization and illness to get their fix. One patient said that they knew they were addicted, but it was the doctor's fault for prescribing the opioids in the first place. “I will sue the doctor if I am left in pain,” the patient said.

The mainstays of treatment for addiction are both education and effective counseling, which take time.

Time spent with each patient is modern medicine's least valued commodity from a financial perspective. This is especially true in emergency departments, where physicians are usually evaluated on the number of patients seen rather than the amount of time spent with the patient.

According to the American Medical Association (AMA) and Dr. Patrice Harris, the epidemic of opioid addiction has continued to take victims. Those responsible for health care and policy are looking at ways to stop these needless deaths. As medical professionals, these people have a professional and ethical responsibility to end this epidemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a guideline on prescribing opioids. The AMA shares the CDC's goal of reducing opioid abuse and applauds the agency for making this a high priority. Specifically, the AMA is concerned about the CDC's recommendations for specific dosage and duration limits.

If the CDC proposals reduce deaths caused by abusing opioids, they will prove to be valuable. If not, the AMA will need to mitigate them. While the AMA shares the CDC's goal of saving lives and reversing the epidemic, the AMA will work with the CDC and other agencies to take steps in this direction.

In the meantime, countless patients come to emergency departments and doctors' offices every day reporting pain and receiving opioids despite known or suspected addiction to these powerful drugs. Health care providers have become hostages of the patients. The ultimate victims though are the patients themselves, who are not getting the treatment for addiction they both need and deserve.

On May 5, 2022, more than one dozen medical professionals across eight federal districts were charged with fueling the opioid epidemic.

The Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force carried out the raids. According to Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite, who was part of Wednesday's criminal announcement in Cincinnati, Ohio, over 75,000 Americans died last year due to opioid overdoses.

The defendants span seven states and account for roughly $7 million in opioid-related fraud loss according to the Justice Department.

One pharmacist in Florida allegedly sold 219,567 pills of oxycodone and 112,840 pills of hydromorphone on the black market between 2019 and 2021. In another case, an Alabama physician and a codefendant are accused of signing off on fraudulent prescriptions and medical bills for patients across three different medical clinics. And in Tennessee, a family medicine doctor allegedly ordered doses of opioids like hydrocodone and oxycodone for patients who did not need them.

In another case, a Kentucky dentist was charged with allegedly prescribing opioid pills without a legitimate medical purpose in August 2020. That month, the dentist provided three opioid prescriptions to a 24-year-old dental patient over a span of five days, prosecutors claimed. The patient later died from a morphine overdose allegedly tied to one of the dentist's prescriptions, according to the Justice Department.

“From January 2016 to September 2020, a review of just the dentist prescribing showed that they issued approximately 3,577 prescriptions for Oxycodone, totaling approximately 62,943 pills that were dispensed to patients," prosecutors also alleged in a recent court filing, prescriptions that they say likely fell "outside the accepted practice of dentistry." The dentist’s defense attorney, Robert McBride, did not comment on his client's pending case, which is set to go to trial later this month, according to court records.

The Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force has so far charged 111 defendants over three years. In all, those defendants are accused of prescribing 115 million controlled substance pills. One person dies from a drug overdose every 5 minutes throughout the United States, the Drug Enforcement Agency said Wednesday.

"These medical professionals…are operating no differently than any drug dealer," U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Kenneth L. Parker said Wednesday. "They are simply donning white coats while they are prescribing dangerous levels of opioids."