Planning is continuing at an accelerated rate for the expansion of Interstate 10 as it slices through downtown El Paso.
The more than $1.1 billion project, which has been the subject of studies and public input meetings for the better part of a decade, will see the acquisition of adjacent land, the demolition of buildings spanning several blocks, and the repurposing of several bridges.
The expansion project as undertaken by the Texas Department of Transportation will span just under 6 miles extending from Copia Street on the east side of downtown to the Executive Center Boulevard on the west side.
A study previously compiled by the Texas DOT called Reimagine I-10 pegged the downtown El Paso segment of a larger effort to upgrade the highway above and below the city as the most important part of the project.
In conforming with COVID-19 distancing requirements, the Texas DOT has scheduled its next public meeting, set for July 15, to be entirely online.
The design for the project is not expected to be completed until at least late 2023.
Transportation officials have long maintained that the I-10 in El Paso, originally built in the late 1950s, is outdated and in need of upgrading in response to vehicular traffic that has more than tripled just in the last two decades.
It is thought that construction on what is expected to be a four-year project will begin sometime in 2025.
By Garry Boulard
