TxDOT: New Schuster Exit To UTEP Opens Friday

Students who drive west to get to the University of Texas at El Paso will find it easier to get to school when the fall semester begins Monday.

Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation said the new westbound Schuster Avenue exit off Interstate 10 will open by 5 p.m. Friday, while a new westbound Schuster entrance ramp from University Avenue is expected to open Monday afternoon.

According to a news release, the exits and onramps are part of an $8 million improvement project that eventually will include a flyover bridge that will guide traffic directly onto University Avenue, and a new westbound entrance to I-10 from University.

The project will ensure traffic flow to the university, which expects to have more than 22,000 students this semester, said Ricardo Mendez, chief inspector of the project. TxDOT will close the existing entrance prior to opening the new ramp, he said.

UTEP officials said they’re glad the ramp will open before the start of classes, but ask students, faculty and staff use caution as they use it.

“Be patient and drive carefully because it’s a new design,” UTEP Police Chief Cliff Walsh said.

TxDOT spokeswoman Blanca Del Valle said the work is progressing on schedule and that the contractor expects to have the rest of the project done in time for this year’s Hyundai Sun Bowl game on Dec. 31. The project began in January 2010.

Officials said the projects are a response to growth at UTEP, including the new Health Sciences and Nursing Building that opened this summer and the Chemistry and Computer Science Building, which should open this winter. UTEP expects to reach 30,000 students by the end of the decade.

TxDOT estimates that 16,500 vehicles will use the ramp, and another 10,650 drivers will use the bridge on a daily basis by 2030, the release said.