Sunland Park overpass now demolished; nearby businesses continue to struggle

West El Paso drivers have had to deal with three straight weekends of closures on I-10.

The closures were necessary so TxDOT crews could demolish the Sunland Park overpass.

TxDOT crews finished the work early on Sunday. The closure was scheduled to open up Monday morning.

Several businesses located near Sunland Park have been hit hard, as drivers have been avoiding the area.

“We did have a lot of reservations that didn’t make it, I think it was also, they were probably like ‘Oh, the restaurant’s on Mesa. Let’s try to avoid it,'” Angel Valadez-Aguilar said.

Valadez-Aguilar works at Midici pizza restaurant on Mesa. He said he understands why customers aren’t frequenting the restaurant as much.

“I don’t want to sit in traffic. I would just rather avoid it. I would rather just honestly go anywhere else,” he said.

Sunland Park Drive was closed to traffic between Mesa Hills and Doniphan during the closures. Drivers were able to access businesses, but many of them avoided the area completely.

Sandra Esparza, works at Gorditas Tonys. The restaurant is located on Sunland Park Drive. Esparza said they have lost about 50 percent of the business they used to have on the weekends.

“It slows down because of the closures,” Esparza said. “We’re anxious for it to be done because it slows down a lot. We’re not used to being that slow. We’re always working fast.”

The closures also make businesses less visible to new customers.

“They don’t know how to get here because of the closures,” Esparza said. “During the weekends they have to drive around, and figure out how to get here.”

But one business owner is welcoming the traffic congestion. Oscar Casillas Beltran owns J.J.’s Diner on Doniphan Drive. He said the closures have helped his business out.

“When things close down on Mesa, all the cars have to go down here on Redd or Artcraft. That means more traffic around here,” Casillas Beltran said. “We have a 25-30 percent increase…the closures get a lot of first timers here.”

TxDOT spokeswoman Lauren Macias Cervantes said there will not be another closure of this magnitude at I-10 and Sunland Park for the remainder of the Go10 Project.