I-10 reopened after bridge demolition

The bridge to nowhere is no more. The bridge built 47 years ago has now been demolished. Shutting down I-10 on Sunday, the demolition drove cars in west El Paso to a near-standstill. Crews worked to tear apart the concrete before cutting the metal beams and removing them. The freeway was reopened to traffic early Monday morning.

The bridge was originally supposed to be connected to a neighborhood north of I-10, but an earthen dam put a stop to most general use, except construction. Now with the demolition shutting down the highway in both directions, people were not too happy

“I’m gonna be late like 15 minutes to my work,” one driver said.

“I was dropping my boyfriend off at work and I’ve been in traffic for about three hours, I’m not even joking,” said another, eager to go back home.

The heavy traffic, Mesa taking on all drivers normally on I-10, interfering with some Sunday plans. Drivers told ABC-7 they wanted to get home to their families, not having seen traffic like this in several years.

But reactions were calmer compared to few weeks ago.

“It’s my day off so I don’t care,” said one driver.

Luckily most said they knew of the closure and were prepared.

“On our way up we knew it was gonna take a while, so you just need to fit it in. It’s a little inconvenient but the work needs to get done,” said a driver.

Work residents say will make the city better

“You gotta give El Paso credit, because I’ve lived in a lot of other places. The fact that they kept up with the infrastructure, with the growth, is impressive. A lot of other places I’ve lived didn’t do that, so kudos for that. Yeah, it sucks, but what are you gonna do?” said one driver.