I-10 at-grade intersections in west Texas

[Avalanchez71]

I just checked out New Mexico's request to AASHTO for elimination of 80 (search for Route Number 80 with a state of New Mexico and the documents will come right up). The rationale was that it would eliminate duplicative signage along the Interstate, Arizona had already decommissioned it to Benson, and that Texas wanted to eliminate it west of Dallas.

I see the maps from 1989 documents do show that even though US 80 was clearly on those state roads adjacent to I-10 they had previously moved US 80 to I-10 prior to the truncation application.  I understand the request more clearly now.  They decided not to do a North Carolina and put the road on the old road(s).

[TXtoNJ]

I'm an unsure what you are saying but IMHO any road designated as an interstate should adhere to standards with zero exceptions. That means no at grade intersections anywhere.

There's zero reason to not sign I-10 through that area, besides satisfying a few road geeks. It would cause more confusion to long distance travelers when all of a sudden "I-10" is gone for dozens of miles.

This exactly. The primary purpose of road numbering is to aid in navigation, not to adhere to some arbitrary grid, or denote design standards that < 10% of the population is aware of in the first place.

[In_Correct]

There are numerous driveways on Interstate 10, which makes it decades outdated. Interstate 40 has a similar problem. Many people say to leave in place.

However, this example is of a street that crosses at grade a Rail Road, at grade a Frontage Road, and at grade both Carriageways of Interstate 10.

I had been interested in The Boulevard as no adequate Grade Separation For Rail exists in Van Horn and Sierra Blanca. The Boulevard also could be a solution, but currently is not.

Also, When did They build The Boulevard, and Why?

[In_Correct]

That Example I posted is of a Road, not a Driveway.

[The Ghostbuster]

Where exactly is "The Boulevard"? I just followed Google Maps between Van Horn and Sierra Blanca and didn't see anything that looked like a boulevard. Can you give me a Google Maps "snapshot" of the exact location of "The Boulevard", since I have been unable to find it on my own?

[NE2]

It's a private unpaved residential street.

[Rick Powell]

Search for "the Blvd" on Google Maps west of Sierra Blanca

[GaryV]

It's a private unpaved residential street.

Residential?  for rattlesnakes maybe.

There's a freakin roundabout north of the freeway!  Looks like maybe after you go through a gate or something?  And then an "Office Loop" goes around a building to the east.

Some kind of installation or is manufacturing/mining/construction going on there?

[bwana39]

I am not familiar with this exact place, but all in all, the crossings in west Texas have been very low traffic, way too low traffic to upgrade. I think they have finally made intersections for all of the Ranch to Market Roads (RM#X).  Like I said, I haven't gone out I-10 or I-20  that far in around a decade.  Is it actually a problem or just a violation of the sense that this violates the rules of a controlled access highway.

If I remember correctly, this is the case in West Texas, New Mexico, and in Arizona. I have never driven across the desert in any other state except California and that was at night.  The expense of providing access is prohibitive in those low traffic areas where I-10 is just an upgrade to US80 or US-90. In all of the cases I ever saw, the cross traffic loads were too low to matter or at least justify the expense.

I looked more closely at this. There is a paved frontage road along the westbound side. The one on the south side is dirt. The remnants of US-80 are still on the north side of the tracks but seemingly in poor condition.  I kind of agree that the north side access to the freeway shouldn't be there. The south side is a different situation though.

I could see real estate investors selling this as "Palm Springs at 1/4 of the price" to retirees selling single family homes in California for $1M+. This looks like a residential speculators thing. It also looks like no one has bit so far.

[froggie]

I looked into it as well.  Agree that it appears to be some sort of proposed residential development.  Worth noting, though, that the road also serves some sort of mining operation that's visible on aerial imagery.

[msunat97]

Checking on the area with the Landgrid app, the property shows to be owned by the state of Tx.  It is an interesting feature and development done.  One of the streets is named Clubhouse Rd.  Was the idea to create a golf course also?

[bwana39]

Checking on the area with the Landgrid app, the property shows to be owned by the state of Tx.  It is an interesting feature and development done.  One of the streets is named Clubhouse Rd.  Was the idea to create a golf course also?

The building in the middle of clubhouse road, looks more like a DPS or DHS / CBP office facility.

That said, it isn't unusual for economic development land in Texas to remain in government hands until the developer actually sells it. Sometimes, it is titled by an EDC, but more often it just stays in the governments' hands until it has a real sale.

Another issue is some of the smaller more rural counties don't post their data on-line until it is done by a title insurance company. Title insurance is kinda moot on the direct sale from government in land that was held long-term by the government.

[thisdj78]

RCL Rocks is the name of the company at that address on Office Loop. Here's a link to an image of the building:

https://pin.it/3299AN0

[Road Hog]

Down on the boulevard, they take it hard.

[CoreySamson]

For those interested, this is the area in question:
https://www.google.com/maps/@31.1913005,-105.419091,1531m/data=!3m1!1e3

What I would suggest TxDOT do is to build exit ramps to the frontage road on the north side and remove the crossing in the median. If one wanted to get to Cowser Road from "The Boulevard" they could turn around at exit 99 to the west.

[armadillo speedbump]

Down on the boulevard, they take it hard.

Thank you.

Nobody rides for free.

[armadillo speedbump]

If some body says "Waste Of Tax Dollars" be prepared to say every waste of tax dollars or they are hypocrites.

Bandage Solutions need not be applied to Interstates.

Do it right, or go back to U.S. Highway.

If some body says anything then check to see if you're in a haunted house, because corpses generally don't talk.

[sparker]

Looking at a GSV of the section of I-10 on either side of Sierra Blanca, the presence of the at-grade intersections may well be a matter of "follow the money" rather than simple local accommodation.  There are four such intersections; one west of that town (the one pictured in the post above) and three to the east.  The one to the west feeds directly north to a corporate gate, behind which is a large roundbout and a divided private road to a mining facility a couple of miles to the north; a RR spur also accesses that mine (and GSV depicted a rather long train at the mine's ostensible loading facility, so it looks to be pretty active).  The three east of Sierra Blanca appear to be for the benefit of the adjoining ranch area; one connects major facilities both north and south of I-10; another connects what looks like either a feed lot or manure collection facility (i.e., a big pile of shit) on the south side across I-10 from old US 80 (which serves most of the ranch facilities); while the third looks like it's pretty gratuitous as far as connecting any particular thing -- simply to shunt traffic from I-10 to the frontage road (that's the farthest east as well).  An educated guess -- neither the mining firm nor the ranch/ranches wished or were asked to pony up any funds for grade separations or interchanges; one or both had some political influence that filtered down to TxDOT; and a C/B analysis of public money being used for such upgrades showed low or negligible returns.  The old adage that money talks and BS walks likely applied here, and the crossings were probably installed to placate these local interests (who were and are merely a phone call away from their state representative).  In any number of other states, these private parties would have been requested to contribute to a grade separation or interchange facility's construction; that doesn't appear to be the case here in TX, which tends to carry the accommodation of businesses considerably farther than other venues. 

But one thing that showed when backing out of GSV to standard GE was that traffic coming from the mining facility showed a definite wear pattern when turning east on old US 80 toward Sierra Blanca itself; it didn't seem like the I-10 grade crossing got a lot of use in that regard.  Another guess -- trucks going to and from the mine head into town, while the crossing gets used sporadically by employees and other individuals heading to points west of the mine along I-10.     

[sparker]

Down on the boulevard, they take it hard.

Thank you.

Nobody rides for free.

Strangers waiting up & down The Boulevard
Shadows searching through the night.

......buzzzzzz......."What is: things that don't happen in Sierra Blanca".

apologies to Steve Perry & Neal Schon!

[Scott5114]

For those interested, this is the area in question:
https://www.google.com/maps/@31.1913005,-105.419091,1531m/data=!3m1!1e3

What I would suggest TxDOT do is to build exit ramps to the frontage road on the north side and remove the crossing in the median. If one wanted to get to Cowser Road from "The Boulevard" they could turn around at exit 99 to the west.

There's a huge ghost development east of town too. Did someone seriously think that Sierra Blanca was going to explode in population at some point? It has a population of 500 and doesn't even have a grocery store...not exactly a booming town...

As for The Boulevard's intersection with I-10, there is a service road on the north side of the highway. Just reroute what little traffic it gets to exit 105, which is 2½ miles east of that point. For Cowser Road, redirect it down an onramp to EB I-10, and if they want to go west, they can turn around at exit 105.

[In_Correct]

That makes sense. But it is time for the At Grade Intersections to go away or it risks even more of them being added.

[In_Correct]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2402352,-105.3975568,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2402352,-105.3975568,610m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

Mountain Road, which is part of The Boulevard:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2437484,-105.3981791,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2437484,-105.3981791,610m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

Club House Road South:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2623437,-105.409591,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2623437,-105.409591,610m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

Club House Road North:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2799811,-105.4137426,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2799811,-105.4137426,610m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

Gates on both sides of Junction R.M. 1111:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2949532,-105.3339702,20z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2949532,-105.3339702,76m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/@31.295171,-105.3340101,3a,75y,167.38h,96.5t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sl8MiWJAevoowtqqCjbzQ7A!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

Sunrise And Mountain Road:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2506187,-105.3340641,21z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2506187,-105.3340641,38m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/@31.2507982,-105.3340331,3a,75y,189.11h,95.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sbxfM0_BFoTKC_59ZT6G9pA!2e0!7i3328!8i1664

The Boulevard junction with Interstate 10 at grade intersection, also Cowser Road:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.1893134,-105.4197101,19z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.1893134,-105.4197101,153m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/@31.1892171,-105.4190556,3a,22.4y,304.38h,86.34t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s0IXOalRX-Wq2Bk4ywf3HWw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D0IXOalRX-Wq2Bk4ywf3HWw%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D102.39008%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

In addition with the problem At Grade Intersection Interstate 10, there are also two problem Rail Road At Grade Crossings:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.1906637,-105.4193624,21z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.1906637,-105.4193624,38m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.1936201,-105.4262815,610m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2611143,-105.4123027,38m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

Is the Rail Road active?

[Avalanchez71]

That makes sense. But it is time for the At Grade Intersections to go away or it risks even more of them being added.

They had a couple of at grades on I-70 and it was two lanes in UT.  They wasted money on turning it into four lanes and putting up exits.  The area did not need any of that as it as such a low AADT.  There are holes in the system as no system needs to be absolute or rigid. 

[rte66man]

In addition with the problem At Grade Intersection Interstate 10, there are also two problem Rail Road At Grade Crossings:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.1906637,-105.4193624,21z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.1906637,-105.4193624,38m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.1936201,-105.4262815,610m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Blvd,+Texas/@31.2611143,-105.4123027,38m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x86e667d927816855:0xe3c7d01b9f5503cb!8m2!3d31.2402352!4d-105.3953681

Is the Rail Road active?

There is a loaded string on the siding at the quarry A locomotive is on the north end. Probably all they would need to push it down to the main. I didn't see a stacker arm long enough to reach the rail cars so they are using front-end loaders to load the cars. If volume is low, that is more cost-effective than using a stacker.

[rte66man]

Looking at a GSV of the section of I-10 on either side of Sierra Blanca, the presence of the at-grade intersections may well be a matter of "follow the money" rather than simple local accommodation.  There are four such intersections; one west of that town (the one pictured in the post above) and three to the east.  The one to the west feeds directly north to a corporate gate, behind which is a large roundabout and a divided private road to a mining facility a couple of miles to the north; a RR spur also accesses that mine (and GSV depicted a rather long train at the mine's ostensible loading facility, so it looks to be pretty active)..........

But one thing that showed when backing out of GSV to standard GE was that traffic coming from the mining facility showed a definite wear pattern when turning east on old US 80 toward Sierra Blanca itself; it didn't seem like the I-10 grade crossing got a lot of use in that regard.  Another guess -- trucks going to and from the mine head into town, while the crossing gets used sporadically by employees and other individuals heading to points west of the mine along I-10.     

I work in the aggregates industry so I took a closer look at the quarry. They have a truck scale at the north end but it doesn't look as if it is active. Based on the traffic patterns of the water truck (why some of the dirt is darker, an MHSA requirement) and the lack of any meaningful endpoint within driving distance, I believe this to be a 100% rail facility. The workers would all head back to tow after shifts hence the traffic pattern you see at the south end. That quarry is too far away from any developed area for it to make sense to do anything but ship by rail.

I looked them up. It is active and is run by Sierra Blanca Quarry, LLC, which looks to be a family-run business.  They run M-F on 10 hour shifts. I would guess they are selling to a stone yard in El Paso or other convenient pickup location.