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El Paso @ LoneStarRoads
El Paso is located next to the Rio Grande in a pass between two mile high mountains, hence the name. The current city grew from a settlement founded by Ponce de León in 1827, however missions date back to 1677 and the first known settlement in the area dates back to 1598. The city has grown out of the original valley to surround the Franklin Mountains, which are now crossed by SH 375.
El Paso is unique for it's distance from the major population centers of Texas. Historically, El Paso has been rather isolated from the more populous eastern half of Texas due to the extremely long drive across West Texas. In some ways, El Paso seems more a part of Mexico, particularly due to Ciudad Juarez on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande.
Due to the unique geography of El Paso, traffic is funneled on IH-10 through downtown, leading to increased congestion. IH-10 is currently operating at capacity most of the day, and with heavy truck traffic, El Paso does not meet air quality standards. In addition to plans for widening the eastern half of IH-10 through the city, TxDOT is currently studying a project called the Northeast parkway.
Plans for the Northeast Parkway call it to branch off IH-10 at Anthony, and follow NM 404 across the "Anthony Gap" through the mountains. After crossing the mountains, the road would turn southeast to meet Loop 375 in Fort Bliss. TxDOT is designing the project and will reimburse NMDOT for construction costs in New Mexico.
Additional plans call for widening of IH-10 east of US 54, and improvements
to Loop 375 and US 85 to make the set of roads another
alternate to IH-10.
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Eastbound
Westbound |
Interstate
10
Interstate 10 was opened between 1961
and 1969 through El Paso. The section from Paisano
(US 62) east was open by 1961, and the section
from the NM state line to Paisano (west) was open
by 1966. The final link through downtown, a 0.4
mile section between Santa Fe and Campbell streets,
was opened in mid-1969. Interstate 10 has been
widened numerous times to it's present eight to
ten lane with frontage road configuration. |
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Interstate 110
Unsigned Interstate 110 is a short
route between IH-10 and Mexico via the Bridge
of the Americas. The route is unsigned, and partially
co-signed with US 54. |
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Eastbound
Westbound |
Patriot Freeway
US 54 was one of the original US Highways
serving El Paso, commissioned in 1926. It runs
from the Mexican border downtown north to the
New Mexico state line. US 54 was upgraded to the
North-South freeway starting in 1970, and renamed
the Patriot Freeway in 1993 after the Gulf War. |
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Paisano Drive
- Montana Ave
US 62 was commissioned in 1932 to
replace former US 366, one of the original US
routes in El Paso. US 62 starts at the Mexican
Border in downtown El Paso, at the Santa Fe Port
of Entry before turning east on Paisano Drive
(former US 80). US 62 follows Paisano Drive east
to Montana Ave, then continues east out of El
Paso. The US 62 corridor was planned as a freeway
but ultimately cancelled.
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Mesa St/Alameda
St
US 80 was commissioned in 1926 through
El Paso, and decommissioned in 1989. There are
several old alignments through El Paso. Originally
US 80 entered New Mexico on Doniphan Drive (present-day
SH 20) before being realigned in 1955 to the present-day
IH-10 alignment. The original 1926-1939 alignment
turned east as Mesa Drive, looping around the
mountains enroute to downtown. Mesa St turned
to Texas Ave, then Alameda Ave east of downtown.
The section between Mesa Drive and the Alameda/Paisano
intersection was resigned US 80A in 1939, and
re-resigned as US 80 in the late 1950s. Currently
this alignment is signed as SH 20.
US 80 was realigned in 1939 south
from the Doniphan Dr/Mesa St intersection and
headed south to paralell the Rio Grande as Paisano
Drive. This alignment continued east through downtown
to meet US 80A at Alameda Drive/Paisano Drive
intersection. This alignment was signed as US
80 from 1939 until the late 1950s, and is currently
part of US 85 (IH-10 at Sunland Park to Stanton
St) and US 62 (Santa Fe St to Paisano/Alameda
intersection).
The third alignment of US 80 was along
present-day IH-10 - this was commissioned from
1969 to 1989.
More details on US 80's path through
El Paso are coming in the future. |
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Paisano Drive
US 85 was extended to El Paso in 1935
south from Las Cruces. US 85 was co-signed with
US 80 until downtown, but remained on the Mesa
Street alignment to Texas Street, then south on
Stanton Street to the Mexican border. After 1969,
US 85 was shifted to old US 80 (alignment 2) along
Paisano from Sunland Park south to Stanton/Santa
Fe Streets. |
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Montana Ave
US 180 was extended into El Paso in
1944, co-signed with US 62 from downtown east.
US 180 was later extended to the New Mexico State
line, co-signed with US 80 and later IH-10 west
of downtown. Today, US 180 starts at the New Mexico
state line and is co-signed with IH-10 until Montana
Ave, then follows US 62 to Carlsbad, New Mexico. |
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Cesar Chavez Border Freeway
Joe Battle Blvd
Woodrow Bean Trans-Mountain Drive
Loop 375 over the Franklin Mountains
opened on August 5, 1969 as TxDOT's largest excavation
project. SL 375 has been extended east and around
the city, forming a partial loop from downtown
along the Rio Grande, turning inland south of
the city and meeting IH-10. The road loops around
the east side of El Paso, meeting US 62/180 before
proceeding northeast through Fort Bliss and meeting
US 54 on the west side of the base. West of US
54 is the original section of Loop 375. Loop 375
was planned in the 1963 freeway plan, but is only
partially constructed as a freeway.
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Page Updated November 3, 2008.
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