Upper Valley Road Construction Expected To End This Weekend

Detours in El Paso’s Upper Valley are making trips longer some residents.

The road closures are the result of a traffic roundabout under construction at Country Club Road, Westside Drive, River Run Street, and Upper Valley Road.

City officials say the roadways in question will open by this weekend, and remain open for the duration of the project.

But that’s too late for one unidentified driver, who got so frustrated this week he drove around the barriers into wet cement.

“I think this sucks,” said Upper Valley resident William Zimmerman.

“I think this is terrible.”

Since 2009, crews have been constructing the traffic circle, which is designed to work more efficiently than a traffic light at the major Upper Valley intersection.

Area residents told us they like the roundabout; they don’t like the detours, which can easily tack 10 miles onto a four mile trip.

“I don’t know who’s in charge of planning all of this stuff but I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Zimmerman said.

We took those concerns to the city engineer, Alan Shubert, who’s familiar with the traffic because he lives in the Upper Valley.

“This is a project that couldn’t be without trouble,” he said.

“There’s really no way to build this project without inconveniencing some people along the way, or all people at some point,” he said.

He said one of the reason this project is taking so long to complete is because city officials have to coordinate with officials in New Mexico on issues including utilities and irrigation because the project ends just feet away from the New Mexico state line.

“The Upper Valley is very short on roadway. The connectivity there is so difficult that when we have to close a thoroughfare it is a major headache for people that live in the valley,” he said.

William Zimmerman’s trip to Walgreens used to take him five minutes – before construction.

Now it takes him 30 minutes.

City offiicials say all the roads should be back open by the end of this weekend. And at that point – there shouldn’t be any more closures.