The City of El Paso is actively trying to find new funding sources for the construction of a downtown highway deck.
For more than 5 years, city officials, community leaders, and residents have rallied around the idea of putting together a deck park plaza that would span Interstate 10.
Taking in around five blocks, from Santa Fe Street east to Kansas Street, the deck project would see the creation of walking trails, gardens, and other outdoor facilities on a bridge that otherwise may be demolished.
Once completed, the project would reconnect neighborhoods that had been divided for some 60 years due to the construction of the highway.
What has been called the I-10 Upper Deck project earlier secured a $900,000 grant through the assistance of the non-profit Paseo del Norte Community Foundation to fund a feasibility study.
Earlier reports have indicated that the project would cost upwards of $207 million to complete in two phases.
Late last month the project was confronted with an unanticipated setback when the federal Department of Transportation passed on approving a $5 million grant that would have been used to pay for construction blueprints.
New members of the El Paso City Council have tasked City Manager Dionne Mack with investigating other both public and private funding sources.
Mack is expected to report back to the council with new funding options by early April.
Despite the failure of the project to obtain the federal grant, El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson has issued a statement remarking that the deck park “is not just a visionary project for enhancing quality of life; it’s a smart investment in economic development.”
February 6, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Rendering courtesy Texas Department of Transportation
