At our association’s March 2022 and November 2021 membership meetings, we learned pros and cons related to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) “Downtown-10” proposal to widen Interstate 10 in El Paso in the downtown and Five Points area.
November 2022 – Jennifer Wright, the TxDOT Public Affairs Officer for the El Paso Region, presented new drafts of the project footprint and explained many of the considerations being weighted. Major maintenance is needed on the interstate and the Downtown-10 project proposes complete that maintenance while also widening and reconfiguring it. Plans are not finished and may change significantly. TxDOT’s 2042 traffic projections, current and future congestion, was shared in support of widening the downtown interstate. View the TxDOT Downtown-10 website here. Here is an informational video from their website:
El Paso I-10 Project: Segment 2 – TxDOT
March 2022 – Luis “Sito” Negron, Senior Policy Advisor for Precinct 2 County Commissioner David Stout and president of the Sunset Heights Neighborhood Association, is an advocate for scaling back the Downtown-10 proposals to cover just the maintenance needs of the interstate and refocusing TxDot’s attention toward other highway needs. He shared his and others’ doubts about the accuracy of traffic projections and frustration that underlying data behind the TxDot projections has not been released for independent analysis. Negron provided copies of the recently released (March 9, 2022) El Paso County Public comment on Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) and Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) and Transportation Conformity Report (TCR). Download here (pdf).
Association Feedback?
Have you considered the Pros and Cons the Downtown-10 project would have on Five Points and neighboring communities? What do you think? Contact us with your thoughts.