Transmountain Road

The plan to widen El Paso’s Transmountain Road continues to concern El Paso Sierrans. The city’s engineering department recently weighed in with these three alternatives and comments:

Alternative 1: Install a complete interchange at Transmountain and Paseo del Norte and an overpass at Plexxar (as designed). The analysis shows that Paseo del Norte attracts a high amount of the traffic from the region and the interchange, when built, will be the most used in the system. While the network would work in some respects better without the interchange, it would be very problematic to provide access to the Westside Master Plan properties that it serves. In addition, without this interchange, trip average length will be longer and congestion at the other major interchanges will be greater. [Note that despite efforts to separate the two, the Westside Master Plan is indeed a very important factor in Transmountain expansion.]

Alternative 2: Install a complete interchange at Plexxar and do not construct an Interchange for Paseo del Norte: The distance between Plexxar and Resler is too close to build a complete interchange at Plexxar.

Alternative 3: Install a complete interchange at Paseo del Norte with no overpass at Plexxar
This alternative would result in the following:
1) The aesthetics of the project at this interchange would be improved.
2) Increased congestion would exist at the intersections of Transmountain and Resler and Transmountain and Paseo del Norte...
3) Trip length for local traffic using Plexxar would substantially increase.
4) Pedestrian and bicycle connectivity would be very negatively impacted, requiring an additional mile of walking or biking if trying to move across
Transmountain at Plexxar.

The summary to City Manager Joyce Wilson: “Collectively, the Department of Engineering and Construction Management and the El Paso Department of Transportation share the opinion that both the full interchange at Transmountain and Paseo del Norte and the overpass at Plexxar are valuable and important components of the project and should be constructed with the project.”

TxDot revealed its Environmental Assessment of the project to the public last week. There is a comment period and the Sierra Club will be commenting. Stay tuned!

In the meantime keep up-to-date with Jim Tolbert’s great blog at
elpasonaturally.blogspot.com. –Laurence Gibson