The small towns of Tornillo and Ysleta, to the south of the City of El Paso, are in line to receive funding for both the construction of new sidewalks as well as the installation of bike lanes.
The money, officially approved by the Texas Transportation Commission, is coming through two different federal programs: Transportation Alternatives and Safe Routes to Schools.
Altogether, the commission gave a green light to thirty transportation infrastructure programs in the state with a total dollar value of $24.4 million.
Of those projects, 27 will see the building of new sidewalks, five call for new shared-use paths, and two are centered on the creation of new bike lanes.
The work in Tornillo, some 39 miles to the southeast of downtown El Paso, will see the building of just under 2 miles of new sidewalks. That funding is coming specifically from the Transportation Alternatives program.
El Paso County is officially the project sponsor for the Transportation Alternatives funding.
Ysleta, 15 miles southeast of El Paso, is getting funding through the Safe Routes to School program for the installation of new bicycle lanes, a shared path for bike-riders and pedestrians, and the installation of upgraded school flashers.
The City of El Paso is the project sponsor for the Safe Routes to School funding.
The Transportation Alternatives program is designed to target community-based programs building bicycle and pedestrian options, the conversion of abandoned railways into walking trails, and stormwater mitigation, among other efforts.
The Safe Routes to Schools program promotes walking and cycling infrastructure for students coming and going to school.
By Garry Boulard
