Public meetings for ‘Reimagine I-10’ study
The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDoT) is looking to overhaul Interstate 10 from the New Mexico-Texas state line to to FM 3380 (Aguilera International Highway) in Tornillo, a 55-mile stretch through El Paso County.
Before any construction can begin, TXDoT is conducting the Reimagine I-10 Corridor Study to identify where improvements need to be made along I-10.
This week, two public meetings will be held so residents can give their opinion on what they would like to see on the freeway.
The 55 miles of highway includes more than 200 bridges and five U.S. and Mexico ports of entry.
According to TXDoT, data showed projected traffic volume by 2042 will exceed 300,000 vehicles per day, mostly on intercity travel.
At the public meetings, residents will get to see proposed ideas already created by TXDoT, but the public is encouraged to take their own ideas.
After the study is complete, TXDoT will figure out what projects it can propose and get funding for.
Officials the I-10 corridor into four segments to better organize the proposed projects.
TXDoT spokeswoman Jennifer Wright said within the stretch of I-10, Executive Center Boulevard to Reynolds is a priority because it is one of the busiest sections in the county.
TXDoT has labeled that part of I-10 Segment 2 in the Reimagine I-10 plans.
“The downtown segment is vitally important, we don’t want it to become a choke point for this commerce that flows from coast to coast. We don’t want people to avoid El Paso because they can’t get through there,” Wright said.
Other priorities include changing the height of overpasses along I-10 because many of them don’t meet the new standard of eighteen and a half feet.
Wright said parts of the freeway have surpassed its life expectancy.
“We would like to accelerate the downtown portion because it’s so vital and it represents a narrowing of I-10 and the pavement that was built 60 years ago. It has reached the end of its useful life,” Wright said.​
Wright said a construction could begin as soon as 2023.
Public Meetings:
Tuesday, Jan. 22, 4:30-6:30 p.m.
El Paso Community Foundation Room
333 N. Oregon, 79901
Thursday, Jan. 24, 5-7 p.m.
Ysleta ISD Central Office
9600 Simms Drive, 79925
