TRAFFIC ALERT: Kansas Street closure in effect Tuesday

A portion of Kansas Street in downtown El Paso closed Tuesday morning for a construction project expected to last three months.

The Kansas St. bridge between Franklin Avenue and Main Street is located above the Union Pacific Railroad and in need of repairs.

A similar construction project has closed the same portion of Santa Fe Street.

Santa Fe St. from Franklin Ave. to Main St. will be closed though the end of February.

The city’s Engineering and Construction Management Department have orange barrels and signs to mark detours.

Department officials said those traveling from the Eastside, Central, Northeast and Lower Valley should consider taking the Cotton St. exit and take Texas Ave. to downtown (to avoid Kansas St.).

Loop 375 to downtown is also an alternate route for commuters.

The construction on Kansas St. and Santa Fe St. is part of a $1.1 million project.

The street bridges were built in in 1946 as part of the Bataan Memorial Trainway project and have outlived the expected lifespan.