First Sun City Lights archways under construction in Kern Place

Crews Tuesday began installing the first of the Sun City Lights archways in El Paso.

The archway in Kern Place “came out of a conversation about the original archways in that neighborhood,” said Laura Foster, the chief architect with the City’s Capital Improvement Department.

Crews will add trees, lighting, public art and also improve the sidewalks in and around Cincinnati and Mesa. “It’s what we call a complete street project. We are taking a place that was already sort of a social gathering place, in a nighttime environment, and formalizing that,” said Foster, “We are making the streets more shareable and more hospitable.”

The $2.8 million project, meant to improve pedestrian safety, should be completed by the end of the year.

Foster said the area will anchor the trolley line in the near future. “It’s a little social area at the top of the trolley line and it anchors the trolley line in the north just like Downtown will anchor it in the south,” Foster said.

There will be a temporary closure of Cincinnati from Stanton to Mesa and Cincinnati from Mesa to Oregon.

Drivers can expect the closures to last until the Friday, December 15, 2017. The Cincinnati and Mesa intersection will not be impacted.