Employees from the Texas Department of Transportation, Harris County, City of Houston, and Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) work side by side every day inside a shared operational facility.

In addition, coordination extends to:

• Regional law enforcement agencies
• Fire and EMS departments
• Emergency management offices
• State and federal partners

During these events, partner agencies coordinated evacuation planning, roadway closures, flood monitoring, transit adjustments, critical emergency messaging, and resource deployment in real time. This model minimizes redundancy, improved communication, and strengthened regional response. When lives are on the line, coordination is not optional. It is mission critical.

Houston TranStar’s coordinated approach has proven essential during some of the region’s most significant events, including:

• Hurricane Rita (2005): Lessons learned from evacuation support and traffic management during one of the largest evacuations in our history.
• Hurricane Harvey (2017): Around-the-clock coordination that supported rescue operations, flood response and public information during catastrophic flooding.
• 2024 Derecho: Rapid, multi-agency activation that helped restore mobility, manage widespread outages and support emergency response.

While major events draw attention, TranStar’s impact is felt every day. Our teams work together to clear crashes faster, reduce secondary incidents and keep first responders safe on the road. This shared mission is the foundation of our work, and the reason Houston TranStar remains a trusted regional resource.

From stalled vehicles and hazardous materials incidents to major crashes and special events, agencies operate as one team to restore mobility quickly and safely. Together, we coordinate traffic operations, emergency response and public safety efforts that protect millions of residents and visitors.