El Paso, TX

[roadwaywiz95]

For this upcoming weekend's Webinar presentation, we'll be taking a look at the freeway system in and around El Paso, TX, one of the more interesting urban centers in the Mountain West region. Coverage will begin on Saturday (4/4) at 6 PM ET.

We had a great crowd with a lot of awesome contributors for our Las Vegas Webinar presentation from last weekend and we hope to have an even stronger crowd this weekend. We hope to see you there!

[Plutonic Panda]

The Bridge of the Americas is set for major construction and redesign:

EL PASO, Texas [KFOX14] – Major changes to the Bridge of the Americas International Port of Entry could have a large impact on the south-central El Paso community.

The General Services Administration, a part of the federal government, held a community meeting on Tuesday where they presented three design concepts that could be implemented at the bridge.

- https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/bridge-of-the-americas-el-paso-texas-port-of-entry-us-mexico-border-ciudad-juarez-federal-government-safety-economy-infrastructure-building-april-4-2023-south-central

[jgb191]

Surprised they hadn't built another long-range interstate there to connect with I-10.  Place a ruler on a map lining up El Paso and Wichita, Kansas; the ruler will also pass over Amarillo, Texas -- connect the dots!  That way drivers from the Great Plains and Great Lakes have an easier route to the Desert Southwestern US.

[Bobby5280]

The US-54 corridor goes from El Paso and up through Wichita, KS. It's not a perfect diagonal path, but it is the most direct route between the two cities. If that corridor was worthy of Interstate status the traffic levels would have built up to make it so. The highway does parallel a very busy rail corridor a good part of the way though.

[Stephane Dumas]

The US-54 corridor goes from El Paso and up through Wichita, KS. It's not a perfect diagonal path, but it is the most direct route between the two cities. If that corridor was worthy of Interstate status the traffic levels would have built up to make it so. The highway does parallel a very busy rail corridor a good part of the way though.

Wasn't US-54 corridor once part of the list of the High Priority corridors?

[MikieTimT]

The US-54 corridor goes from El Paso and up through Wichita, KS. It's not a perfect diagonal path, but it is the most direct route between the two cities. If that corridor was worthy of Interstate status the traffic levels would have built up to make it so. The highway does parallel a very busy rail corridor a good part of the way though.

Wasn't US-54 corridor once part of the list of the High Priority corridors?

Yes.  HPC #51

Not that HPC's get funded at a level that is indicative of the title.  HPC #1 won't be done in my lifetime I suspect, even though Missouri is basically done.

[DJStephens]

Surprised they hadn't built another long-range interstate there to connect with I-10.  Place a ruler on a map lining up El Paso and Wichita, Kansas; the ruler will also pass over Amarillo, Texas -- connect the dots!  That way drivers from the Great Plains and Great Lakes have an easier route to the Desert Southwestern US.

Really not enough traffic to justify.  US - 54 "freewayization" sputtered out near Kingman, KS in 1979.  A lot of "piecemealing" since then, OK did four lane their entire segment, but non of it, to best of belief was access controlled, nor did it feature town bypasses.     

[rte66man]

Surprised they hadn't built another long-range interstate there to connect with I-10.  Place a ruler on a map lining up El Paso and Wichita, Kansas; the ruler will also pass over Amarillo, Texas -- connect the dots!  That way drivers from the Great Plains and Great Lakes have an easier route to the Desert Southwestern US.

Really not enough traffic to justify.  US - 54 "freewayization" sputtered out near Kingman, KS in 1979.  A lot of "piecemealing" since then, OK did four lane their entire segment, but non of it, to best of belief was access controlled, nor did it feature town bypasses.     

Almost correct. OK has 4 laned all but the stretch north from Tyrone to the KS border. Yes, there are no bypasses

[DJStephens]

     Returning this thread to El Paso - the West side I-10 "project" from Vinton (Exit 2) to Mesa St (Exit 11) is approaching a quarter done.    The work currently consists of concrete inner shoulders, the new far left inside lanes, double faced CBR, and all new arroyo and frontage connector crossings.  That is where the expense is coming in, the concrete, and the overcrossing costs.  When this is done, the traffic (currently two lanes in each direction) will be switched, or shifted inside to the new pavement and then, the outside lanes and outer shoulders will be reconstructed.   Again there will be all new concrete pavements, and the rest of the new arroyo and frontage connector overpasses constructed.   What appears to be standard fare txdot reconstruction policy now, the elimination of, and building in a pre-existing median. The final product will be six lanes, three in each direction, with full inner and outer concrete shoulders it does appear.   Cookie Cutter.   
   Personally would have reconstructed in place, preserving the 60 foot median, adding the third lane, in each direction to the Outside.  New overcrossings of arroyos and frontage connectors could have had additional widening into the Median, for a possible far future fourth lane in each direction.  The demographics of the area, support higher capacity.  And there has been no coherent movement towards a needed I grade Bypass of the El Paso Metro.  I-210, what it should be, should have been in place, twenty five years ago.   
    As suspected, they did not "cut down" the sizable 10 mainline hump between Artcraft and Redd Rds, but are simply going over it.   The entire section (MP 7.5  to MP 10) should have been lowered into a cut, so there would have been good sight lines, and lowering of noise levels for surrounding neighborhoods.   The Redd interchange (Exit 9) should have been built, as Redd over a depressed 10, with horizontal clearance underneath for an eight to ten lane 10.   That could have been in place, twenty years ago.  The Artcraft interchange (a rare box or tub beam structure) was woefully underdesigned, and is now overwhelmed by growth that has been allowed to hem in the interchange.  That stretch (MP 7.5 to 10) now illustrates the "piecemealing" that has gone on, since roughly the beginning of the Rick Perry Adminstration.   
    There is continuous one way frontage, along this stretch from the NM border (Anthony, Exit 0) to Sunland Park Drive (Exit 13) now.  Am of belief earlier "Go 10" project was a colossal mistake, and should have featured frontage all the way into the west side of the UTEP campus.   As well as realigning 10, where the silly toll road now cuts through former "Asarco" property.   

[CanesFan27]

Back in June, I took a nostalgic ride on the El Paso Streetcar.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2023/07/the-el-paso-streetcar.html

or

https://adameprince.blogspot.com/2023/07/getting-over-my-writing-fears-on-el.html?view=magazine

[The Ghostbuster]

I've noticed there are two El Paso, TX threads; one here in the Mid-South board, and one in the Mountain West board. Would it be possible to merge the two threads into one board?

[LilianaUwU]

Yeah, it's weird how there are two threads on the same topic in different boards.

[Rothman]

Yeah, it's weird how there are two threads on the same topic in different boards.

And strange this hasn't been brought up before.  I guess not much road news comes out of one of the largest cities in the country?

[JKRhodes]

Yeah, it's weird how there are two threads on the same topic in different boards.

And strange this hasn't been brought up before.  I guess not much road news comes out of one of the largest cities in the country?

I'm good with having all El Paso discussion migrated to this forum.

My first road trip from Arizona to Dallas was met with elation crossing the Texas state line followed by dread upon realizing that the trip wasn't even 1/4 complete. That being said, Texas is Texas; has a great deal of unique road design characteristics in contrast to the Mountain West states.

[bwana39]

ElPaso fits better in the Mountain West.....

[Plutonic Panda]

ElPaso fits better in the Mountain West.....

It does but it's also in Texas and it just makes more sense to have it in the same board. The Texas is in.

[The Ghostbuster]

The El Paso, TX thread in the Mountain West Regional Board has been abandoned (as I hoped it would be since it is a redundant thread). Although I would prefer the other El Paso, TX thread to be locked, it is still open and will likely remain so. Since the conversation about anything El Paso-related has continued in this thread, I believe it should remain confined to this thread only.

[bwana39]

ElPaso fits better in the Mountain West.....

It does but it's also in Texas and it just makes more sense to have it in the same board. The Texas is in.

El Paso is closer to Los Angeles than to Texarkana or Orange. It is closer to Yuma AZ (at the CA border) than to San Antonio, DFW or Houston. From a political POV, it may fit with the rest of Texas: from a geographical one, not so much.