Upper Valley Group Upset About Road Extension Project

Improving traffic congestion in the Upper Valley is getting mixed reviews from some El Paso residents. The improvements include widening Country Club Road and placing traffic circles at some intersections.

Construction has already begun for some of those improvements. But, it’s a proposed multimillion dollar extension that has hundreds of residents upset. It includes a road and bridge that would extend Redd Road where it stops at Montoya to Gomez Road.

“This is the last little bit of piece of open area in the Upper Valley.” A slice of heaven for Chris Courtney who moved here from Mississippi more than ten years ago.

He and many others are frustrated about the proposed Redd Road extension. “The prospect of having a major super highway around the corner from where you live is unacceptable to me,” explains Redd Mulberry Association President, Ted Wilson.

“The proposal is to have a one lane in each direction with a center turning lane, and have some sidewalks and have some bike and hike on the sides that would to and connect to where Gomez Road extension actually ends right now.” The city’s Assistant Engineer, Ted Marquez tells ABC-7, according to a study the city has approved as the ‘Upper Valley Plan’, by 2025 there will be traffic and congestion the city needs to plan for now.

He says, “So in the future, opportunities for federal funds come up, we can apply for those federal funds.”

A specific design has not been put in place, so it’s not clear how many properties will be acquired for the proposed extension. Upper Valley residents who live in the area say one home is too many. Save the Valley President, Mary Francis Keisling says, “They bought their homes so their children could ride their bikes and walk to the park.”

Another upset Upper Valley resident, Iris Courtney tells ABC-7, “I have 3 boys that I’ve raised here and I keep planning on being here. And I wanted them to keep living here. If this goes through, I’m not sure that this is what I wanted for them.”

A quality of life that could change for many. “This is one of the last places people can come by. They stop their vehicles, they feed the sheep, they look at the horses,” Chris Courtney explains.

On Friday the city will present its plan for the extension to the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Policy Board to allocate federal funding.

The meeting will be at the M.P.O.’s office at 9 a.m. and open to the public.