El Paso City Council Postpones Action On Trans Mountain Project

It’s been called the decision that will shape the legacy of the current El Paso City Council – whether to support a freeway along the Northwest part of Trans Mountain Road.

For months, the city has been waiting on the environmental assessment the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) had to turn in to the Federal Highway Administration.

El Paso City Council discussed the environmental assessment for an $80 million Trans Mountain highway project at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The meeting started with the Franklin Mountain Wilderness Coalition turning in two petitions.

One asked the city to preserve the land surrounding the potential freeway as natural open space – meaning no development.

The other petition opposed any major public roadways in that area, meaning they’re against a freeway and an overpass in that area.

After hearing presentations from TxDOT and the city’s traffic analysis of the project, El Paso City Council postponed action on the item until March 29, about a week after further public input on the project.

Several options were discussed, including installing a complete interchange at Trans Mountain and Paseo del Norte and overpass at Plexxar.

Another option that was discussed was installing a interchange at Plexxar and not constructing interchange at Paseo del Norte. With the second option, the distance between Plexxar and Resler was too close to build a full interchange at Plexxar.

Some city representatives, including Susie Byrd and Beto O’Rourke, say there’s a better solution to ease congestion that’s more pedestrian and cyclist friendly – like a boulevard.

They also said that TxDOT has pressured the city into abandoning its vision of making the city less car-dependent by saying a highway is the only option to get state funding.

El Paso City Manager said a freeway is not the best of option, if that is the case.

“If your goal is to reduce car dependency then the freeway is not the best alternative,” Wilson said.

Bill Addington, of the Sierra Club, “There has been a coercion of approval from TxDOT who says ‘we would lose $85 million.”

El Paso Mayor John Cook said that if the goal is to reduce car dependency, then the best alternative is to close Trans Mountain Road and tell people not to go over it.

The project is still in the comment phase. A public meeting on the project will be held on March 22 at Canutillo High School. If City Council doesn’t agree with the petitioners and the petitioners get enough signatures, they can bring the issue to the voters in November, which could slow down TxDOT’s plan.