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Borderland Expressway Project Overview

The document provides an overview of the proposed Borderland Expressway project in Texas and New Mexico. The 10.8 mile Texas segment would connect Loop 375 to FM 3255 and include overpasses, while the 11.4 mile New Mexico segment involves upgrades to existing roads. The project aims to provide an alternative route to I-10 for freight traffic during planned disruptions to I-10 construction from 2024-2030 and promote economic development in northeast El Paso.

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Fallon Fischer
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
7K views8 pages

Borderland Expressway Project Overview

The document provides an overview of the proposed Borderland Expressway project in Texas and New Mexico. The 10.8 mile Texas segment would connect Loop 375 to FM 3255 and include overpasses, while the 11.4 mile New Mexico segment involves upgrades to existing roads. The project aims to provide an alternative route to I-10 for freight traffic during planned disruptions to I-10 construction from 2024-2030 and promote economic development in northeast El Paso.

Uploaded by

Fallon Fischer
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PROJECT OVERVIEW

Borderland
Expressway
A proposed Texas/New
Mexico bypass and freight
relief route

Updated October 2020


Regional View
The El Paso border region is a gateway between Texas, the Southwestern United
States, Northern Mexico and Fort Bliss. The region is home to several highway
corridors critical to keeping national and international commerce moving.

Today, reliability of the regional highway network is facing disruption. The


The Enabling region’s backbone corridor, Interstate 10 (I-10), has begun to deteriorate and plans
are underway for major improvements. In response, public and private interests
Project across Texas and New Mexico are organized in support of I-10’s improvements.

The map below gives a broad view of the region’s two-state highway network and
One of the Top 100 the region’s major fixtures: six international ports of entry, a vast military
most congested presence and the Franklin Mountains.
roadways in Texas, I-10
is programmed for
major improvements.
• Construction on I-10
is estimated to start
in 2024.
• I-10 construction
would mean regular
shutdowns of I-10,
ramp closures and
detours through
surface roads.

The Borderland
Expressway would
enable the
construction work on I-
10 by…
• Offering a relief
route to freight
traffic,
• Mitigating traffic
impacts to the
traveling public, and
• Creating safer, more
efficient travel
through the region.

1
Regional Context
Increases in traffic congestion are expected to intensify due to steady growth in
employment and population. Freight traffic levels also will rise as a result of a
strong regional manufacturing and international trade sector. To improve safety
and enhance mobility, while also reducing delays for the transport of $114
billion worth of goods that travel to, from and through El Paso, the development
of a bypass freight route must be a priority.
Four Projects
The proposed Borderland Expressway (formerly known as the Northeast
Parkway) is one of four high profile projects identified as critical to the integrity of
Borderland
the region’s transportation network.
Expressway
Four Projects New highway that will
provide freight, military
and long-distance
commuters with a
circumferential route
around El Paso’s urban
core and the Franklin
Mountains.

I-10 Downtown Project


Major improvements to
I-10 from Executive
Center Boulevard to
Copia Street. This
section of I-10 currently
lacks frontage roads.

I-10 Airport Project


Major improvements to
Two of the four projects are focused on the rebuilding of I-10 due to its age and I-10 from Copia Street
rapidly deteriorating pavement and bridges. The structural integrity and security to Airway Boulevard.
of I-10 is compounded by its national significance as the only all-weather This part of I-10 serves
east/west highway corridor. For military convoys, a compromised I-10 equates to the international
compromised training movements and deployments. airport, a growing
medical center and
Loop 375 is an alternate route to I-10, but not ideal. To the north, Loop 375 other developments.
(Transmountain Drive) leads drivers through steep grades across the Franklin
Mountains, notorious for stalling freight trucks. The route also is prone to SH 178 Artcraft Road
closures due to inclement weather. To the south, Loop 375 (Border West
Expressway) leads drivers through the urban core of El Paso and the through Improvements to
pinch points that characterize the U.S./Mexico border. Artcraft Road between
the New Mexico state
By design, the proposed Borderland Expressway will allow drivers to avoid steep line and I-10. Rapid
mountainous grades and bypass the urban core. These two features benefit all development in the
long-distance commuters, especially freight trucks and industrial transports, area exceeds the
thereby benefitting the national economy while increasing the safety of people road’s original design.
who live and work in the city.
2
Project Profile
The Texas segment of the Borderland Expressway is located in northeast El Paso
and was originally named the Northeast Parkway. When coordination with New
Mexico began, the Northeast Parkway morphed into a two-state
bypass route and was renamed the Borderland Expressway.
Proposed Borderland Expressway
Big Picture
The Borderland
Expressway…
• would be a
circumferential route
around urban El Paso
and the Franklin
Mountains, and
• would allow industrial
transports, such as
wind blades, an
alternate route.

The Borderland
Expressway (TxDOT)
Project…
• would include
overpasses at Loop
375, BUS 54 (Dyer
Street), Railroad
Drive, US 54, FM
2529 (McCombs Map is subject to change.
Street), FM 2529 The Texas segment is a 10.8-mile proposed new highway that connects Loop 375
(Stan Roberts Sr. with FM 3255 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard). The proposed design describes a
Avenue) and FM 3255 divided four-lane facility featuring bicycle and pedestrian accommodations. The
(MLK Jr. Boulevard), Texas segment would be located within mostly undeveloped land owned by El Paso
and Water and Fort Bliss. The segment would be developed in three phases:
• Phase 1 — New frontage roads and intersection improvements from Dyer (BUS
• would have the
54) to Railroad Drive.
potential to support • Phase 2 — New divided four-lane facility from FM 3255 (Martin Luther King, Jr.
economic Boulevard) to Railroad Drive.
development • Phase 3 — New divided four-lane facility from Railroad Drive to Loop 375.
opportunities in
northeast El Paso by The New Mexico segment is 11.4 miles long and involves upgrades to existing
providing new access facilities: NM 213 and NM 404, as well as replacement of the I-10 overpass at NM
between I-10 and 404, as depicted in the map above. New Mexico has committed the full $69 million
undeveloped land. to complete its portion of the project. Various engineering activities are complete
and more aspects of development are underway. New Mexico plans to start
construction at the I-10/404 interchange in late 2020.
3
Project Profile
The bar graph depicts a timeline scenario for implementation of the region’s four
high profile projects.

Sequencing
I-10 Disruption The Borderland
The challenges of counting on Expressway…
I-10 as the only major route
• is intended to be
through El Paso became
completed first in
obvious when a semitrailer
order to enable the
collided into a bridge while
construction work on
driving on I-10 near downtown
I-10, and
El Paso the summer of 2018.
The incident crippled roadways • would be key to
throughout the region for keeping people and
almost 24 hours. goods moving during
and after the
Due to the lack of frontage construction work on
roads along this stretch of I- I-10.
10, motorists who did not take
Loop 375 as an alternate Construction work on
route were detoured through I-10…
small streets and traffic lights.
• would disrupt the
flow of people and
Repairs to I-10 structures took
goods during
place over weeks, giving
construction through
motorists a taste for how the
the city, and
construction work on I-10 will
affect daily travel. • would happen likely
in phases as funding
becomes available.

4
Benefits to the Highway Network
An analysis of travel time was conducted for four highway routes through the
region between points A and B. In the end, the Borderland Expressway would
provide the fastest commute at 51 minutes. I-10, without construction, timed at
65 minutes.

Economic
Benefits
Benefit Cost Analysis
For every dollar spent to
build the project, an
additional $2.51 is
projected to be generated,
resulting in improved safety,
reduced travel time, and
reduced emissions damage.

Short & Long-Term


Economic Impact
During construction, the
project is estimated to
generate approximately
3,000 job-years and add
approximately $478 million
to El Paso County’s
economic output. After
construction, the project is
estimated to generate
approximately 33,000 job-
years and add
approximately $9.3 billion
from 2025 to 2050 to
El Paso County’s economic
output.

Development and Fiscal


Impact
The project is expected to
add approximately $132
million to property values in
Texas within one mile of the
proposed alignment by Economic Workgroup
2050, yielding up to $100
million of cumulative Starting in 2019, a workgroup had been meeting regularly to examine the economic
potential additional revenue benefits the Borderland Expressway may have on the region. The workgroup was
for local governments from composed of economic professionals from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
2025 to 2050. Border Region Modeling Project, the UTEP Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness,
the Borderplex Alliance, the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority, and the City of
El Paso. An Economic Analysis report was finalized in September 2020.
5
Progress Report

Funding Status

Texas Segment
Project Total = $296M

Texas phases are


pending funding.

New Mexico Segment


Project Total = $69M

New Mexico phases are


fully funded.

Estimated costs are


subject to change.

Borderland Expressway Coalition


Acknowledgements

Texas Department of Transportation


New Mexico Department of Transportation
El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization
Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority
Fort Bliss
El Paso Water
City of El Paso
Borderplex Alliance
Border Region Modeling Project, University of Texas at El Paso
Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness, University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso Chamber
El Paso County

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