The company and Texas Department of Transportation will spend the next few days assessing the damage to determine a cause, meaning many commuters should prepare for some delays.

“We are not at a point where we have any reliable information on what the tenure of this closure will be,” said Raquelle Lewis, spokeswoman for TxDOT in Houston.

Midday Monday, Blueridge spokeswoman Raynese Edwards said she was unable to provide any updates on the closing, and did not expect to have additional information until “later this week.”

During the repair process, tolls have been waived from the Southmore Boulevard entrance ramp to the Beltway 8 frontage road exit ramp. Drivers traveling to Beltway 8 and beyond have been asked to use the express toll lanes. Toll lane entrances can be found south of Southmore Boulevard and from Holcombe Boulevard.

The following detours are available for those traveling in the general-purpose lanes beyond Loop 610:

  Loop 610 Westbound to Fannin: U-turn at Fannin onto the frontage road and enter Loop 610 Eastbound to merge onto Texas 288 Southbound.

  Loop 610 Eastbound to Scott: U-turn at Scott onto the frontage road. Take the frontage road to merge onto the Texas 288 Southbound entrance ramp.

Lewis said closings and detours could change in the coming days as officials assess the damage and decide how best to open lanes while making the repairs.

Sunday night’s collapse was the second time parts of the freeway system failed, leading to widespread detours and delays. In November 2019, massive potholes in temporary ramps led to closings.

The failure comes six months after Blueridge — following a two-year delay — opened the toll lanes along Texas 288, the first comprehensive development agreement in the Houston area.

The agreement between TxDOT and Blueridge called for the company to build toll lanes in Harris County and then maintain the tollway and freeway for 50 years. Blueridge is expected to recoup its investment through the toll revenues, a deal valued in 2016 at $2.1 billion.

As part of the deal, Blueridge manages the entire freeway, meaning its repair crews and its designers are responsible for the work. That work and any information about the cause of the collapse will be turned over to TxDOT, Lewis said, which still must verify that everything is built to national and state freeway standards.

“We are still ultimately the owner,” Lewis said.

Though hailed as an innovative way to add lanes and managed congestion along the growing corridor from downtown Houston, into the Texas Medical Center and south to Pearland and into Brazoria County, the deal’s benefit for drivers has been mixed. Years of construction meant commuters zipped along narrow lanes through a work zone, often inundated during heavy rains as area pipes and culverts remained a work in progress.

The delays led TxDOT in February to send Blueridge a letter, citing the terms of the contract for the tollway construction, informing the company it owed the state $4 million. Initially, officials said the delays could cost the company up to $7 million.

The company is a partnership of international companies, primarily Shikun & Binui, an Israeli construction giant, and Spanish construction conglomerate Grupo ACS. Bluerudge’s financing comes from investment firm InfraRed Capital Partners, based in London, and American investment companies Northleaf Capital Partners and Star America Infrastructure Partners.

Though drivers do not notice the difference, the tollway in Brazoria County is operated by the county, not Blueridge. Pulice Construction, a subsidiary of Grupo ACS, built the Brazoria County portion.

julian.gill@chron.com

dug.begley@chron.com