At the same time that work on the expansion of Interstate 10 slicing through El Paso takes place, a separate project will most likely be underway seeing the building of a deck plaza crossing the highway.
The project has been talked about for around 5 years and has captured the imagination of residents, planners, and city officials who contend that it makes more sense to repurpose the overpass as a park than to demolish it.
What has been called the I-10 Upper Deck project will, according to various reports, see trees, grass, bushes, gardens, benches, and other outdoor facilities, with the deck space itself spanning some five blocks.
Other deck features may well include a dog park, performance stage, and even an El Paso Police Department substation.
Primary supporter of the project is a non-profit group called the Paseo del Norte Community Foundation, which has estimated that it could cost as much as $207 million to complete the deck park.
Funding for the project, as with other deck park endeavors in various cities, could come from federal, state, and local resources, and may also include private support.
It is also thought that prospects for the park might be the most promising if the project is divided into two phases for two sections of the overpass, with the first phase costing around $105.3 million and the second carrying a price tag of $101.5 million.
An effort called the Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation, which was created by Paseo del Norte group, has helped to secure a $900,000 grant that’s been used to fund a feasibility study.
In promoting the project, a website for the Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation said a deck park “will secure north-south and east-west connections that were lost with the construction of the freeway in the 1950s.”
Besides application to the federal Department of Transportation for funding for the project, it’s possible that City of El Paso support for the deck plaza may be secured sometime in 2025.
By Garry Boulard
Image Credit: Courtesy of Texas Department of Transportation
