Advice on navigating the Houston construction obstacle course on the way to A&M

UPDATED 11/25: Video link (albeit poor) of merge from I-10 to US 290 at 1:00 on 11/24. Traffic not too bad for the 5 lane merge. Should see this from 3-6pm during evening rush. Hope this gives you an idea.
I-10 to US 290 5 lane merge

I make the drive from Houston to College Station a couple of times per week and I wanted to give you all a heads up if you plan to go through Houston on the way to the football game at A&M. I call it the US 290 Obstacle Course.

1. If you want to avoid Houston traffic on Wednesday, don't go through Houston -- turn north on US 69,96,287 in Beaumont, then exit on SH 105 and go west to Navasota where you can get back on SH 6 to College Station. The drawback is that most of this is 2 lane highway with a lot of traffic and lights from Cleveland to Montgomery.

2. If you have a toll tag for the Houston area (EZ Tag), or Texas (TxTag, or T-Tag), then you can use the Sam Houston Tollway around Houston. Half of it is TOLL TAG ONLY, with a free section in the middle, and then a section where you can pay cash.

3. Using I-610 to get around downtown from the East side of Houston is 6 of one and a 1/2 dozen of the other. Neither gets you around the construction on US 290, but this route does keep you from doing the Great Merge that I will describe next.

4. Using I-10 all the way through to I-610 west of downtown.
MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THIS --
A. When you exit from I-10, it is a 3 lane exit and at the top of the ramp, the middle lane goes south and north. I would be in this lane and make sure I exit north (right) at the split.
B. Once you make the curve onto I-610 North, you have about 1.4 miles to move over 4 lanes. You will have 2 lanes join you from I-10 east and then 4 from I-610 for a short 8 lane segment.
C. US 290 USES THE LEFT 3 LANES TO EXIT (signs say Austin), so you have to move over at least 4 lanes - preferably 5.
D. Once you make the left exit onto US 290, you have about 20 miles of various construction, some of it very serious -- narrow lanes moved in new places and no shoulders. The worst part is in many parts of the first 10 miles, there are no acceleration lanes onto the freeway from the frontage roads. Cars stop on the entrance ramp and then try to accelerate to 50-55 mph like it's a drag strip. Staying in the left or 2nd from left (middle in most parts) will keep you safer than the right lane.
E. The construction actually ends in Waller, but that hasn't started -- once you get past the new Grand Parkway construction, it's smooth sailing.

5. The point of congestion past here will be during the afternoon on Thanksgiving Day when all of the Aggies and Tigers coming up from Houston have a 1 lane exit when SH 6 splits from US 290 in Hempstead. For the Ole Miss game, I was going to Houston and saw a 2 mile backup there. There is no light, just a single lane exit and a sharp curve.


LOCAL RADAR AREAS - SPEED TRAPS:
From Barker-Cypress Road to Waller, there are almost always 1 or 2 Harris County Sheriff's vehicles taking radar (65 mph). BE AWARE -- THEY ARE USUALLY IN F-250 SUPER DUTY TRUCKS so they are difficult to pin point.

I will make the trip tomorrow (Monday) and will update what construction I encounter. Hopefully there will no lane closures during the week.

I hope this helps us Tiger fans who are going to the game. I will make the drive on Wednesday afternoon as I still have my house there and will be at Lupe Tortilla for happy hour and Buffalo Wild Wings (3.00 pint beers) after that.

Safe travels Tigers!