Construction to complete Isela Rubalcava Road to begin in 2017

It’s a road that’s been talked about for nearly a decade.

Isela Rubalcava Road near Canutillo High School was opened nine years ago but never completed.

Now, the Texas Department of Transportation and the city are reaching the construction phase of the road and residents say it’s been long overdue.

The road was opened in 2006 with the opening of Canutillo High School. It was named in 2014 after Isela Rubalcava who died during the Iraq war in 2004.

The road is shared by a nearby Head Start, Canutillo High School and El Paso Community College but there was one problem the road was never completed.

The road begins at South Desert Boulevard makes an abrupt stop about a mile down the road and never connectes to highway Spur 16 as was intended.

Tuesday the city announced it’s plan to connect the road.

“Finally it looks likes it’s going to become a reality,” said Canutillo resident Deon Dorado.

Dorado had been urging the city to complete the road. Dorado has some experience when it comes to road safety.

“I have been in law enforcement many years. I have also been a federal agent with U.S. DOT so transportation and safety on highways has always been one of my priorities,” Dorado said.

Dorado said the incomplete road is a traffic nuisance but he feels there’s a more pressing issue.

“That’s the way that these kids and the kids from the community college they’re going to be able to escape out if something happens on I-10,” Dorado said.

“When I was campaigning a year and a half ago this is something I heard when I was knocking on people’s doors,” said District Rep Peter Svarzbein.

Svarzbein said getting this road complete was one of his priorities.

After nearly 10 years the project is a go and construction will begin next summer.

So, why did it take so long?

“At one point we’re were able to get federal funds which means we have to follow the TXDOT process so that required additional revisions to the plans and as part of the TXDOT process and we need to go through the environmental documentation,” said capital improvements city employee Ismael Cepeda.

The cost of the project is a little more than $2 million. Construction begins the fall of 2017 and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2018.