I-10 scheduled to close again this weekend

West El Paso drivers will have to brace for another major closure this weekend.

The westbound lanes of Interstate 10 will be closed from the Sunland Park exit to the Sunland overpass.

The closure begins on Sunday at 3 a.m. and ends Monday at 5 a.m.

I-10 East will be down to two lanes in the same area.

Crews are expected to demolish the rest of the Paisano bridge for the GO 10 project.

Last week’s closure paralyzed a major portion of the commute in west El Paso.

Traffic on Mesa Street, the only alternate route, was at a crawl.

Bob Bielek, a Texas Department of Transportation district engineer, said the remaining portion of the bridge will come down Sunday.

ABC-7 asked Bielek why it wasn’t torn down completely last week.

He said as one half of the bridge was demolished, crews were putting up beams near the other half.

“That would’ve meant moving all the equipment that they had for hanging beams,” Bielek said.

For the last week, half of the Paisano bridge lingered over part of I-10 westbound.

Bielek said it was not a hazard for drivers because crews sawed of the first half, ensuring no debris would fall on the freeway.

“There’s no hazard there, it’s still structurally sound,” said Bielek.

Bielek said he anticipates this closure will run a lot smoother than last week’s.
He encouraged drivers who take the detour on Mesa St. to take advantage of the restaurants along the way.

“Stop, relax, have iced tea, at least the driver have iced tea or coffee and enjoy the day,” Bielek said.

Officials with the GO 10 project report that 575 cubic yards of concrete will be demolished to bring down the Paisano bridge. That’s enough to fill 40 concrete mixer trucks.

Bielek said it is up to the contractor if the concrete will be recycled or disposed of in a landfill.

For updates on the GO 10 project, check out their Facebook page here.