Building the Borderland Expressway makes more sense for El Paso than widening the freeway downtown.
If we removed the through traffic, the eighteen wheelers that pass through El Paso on I-10, there would be plenty of capacity for local traffic.
And those big trucks don’t really add much to El Paso’s economy. They’d still buy diesel at the Petro in Horizon City.
You remember the Borderland Expressway. That’s the proposed highway that connects to Loop 375 and runs through the Anthony Gap. You can read about it here.
El Paso will only get a limited amount of transportation dollars. If we spend it on widening the freeway, we won’t have it for the Borderland Expressway.
The problem with the Borderland Expressway is that if we build it instead of widening the freeway, MountainStar Sports Group won’t get a deck to build its soccer stadium on.
But those guys are rich. They can buy a different location for their soccer stadium instead of sticking it to the taxpayers again.
This is a hugely important issue – not least for the lungs of the rest of us. Name another city that has a massive freeway right through the middle of it, carrying truck traffic that never stops for any local purchases.
I am sending messages to the MPO and other “decision-making” bodies to state, among other things, that I will NEVER attend any event at the Deck, even if it’s a return concert by Elvis.
Well, there is Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Beaumont. Plus all of the Loops that go around the larger cities. Do we need to stay in Texas?
Still lots of rights-of-way issues that need to be handled first. Loop 375 from Montana to Railroad runs through Ft Bliss military reservation. Plus the rights-of-way in New Mexico. While it is one thing to just expand this portion of Loop 375, new routes to get the discussed highway from the Railroad/375 point to where it will connect at the entrance to Anthony Gap need to be determined and authorized.
Political problems not withstanding you could also expand 375 and build a small cloverleaf connector at the Trans Mountain / US 54 location. But then you would disrupt several businesses at this location. Expansion of the expressway can continue with up US 54 or construct an elevated expressway through the developed area there on MLK as it heads out of town towards the power plant and Anthony Gap.
Finally, why don’t we pursue the anticipated costs associated with boring a tunnel from the east side of the Franklins to the west side. There will be no need to expand any expressway connectors or cloverleafs, as it already exists at I-10 west at Trans Mountain as well as I-10 west and 375 on the eastside.
Thanks for this to-the-point blog!
“NO” to expanding I 10 in downtown.
“YES” to the Borderland Expressway!
Rich,
I would like to share your blog on Facebook. Is there an easy way to do that? Have you already posted it on FB somewhere?
Thanks for your efforts.
TX DOT is conducting archeological test excavations at a site identified by SHPO on the portion of the route running through Fort Bliss. Yes, Army is granting an easement to TX DOT to construct the highway…