By Olivia Dilley / El Paso Matters
After registering concerns with the state over transportation funding allocations, El Paso officials said they are hopeful they can secure more state funds for the Interstate-10 corridor that is congested and in “dire need of maintenance.”
Last October, the El Paso Chamber sent a letter to the governor and the Texas Department of Transportation, claiming the region was receiving inadequate funding.
An analysis attached to the letter compared state transportation districts and found the El Paso area receives hundreds of millions less than Waco, Tyler and Beaumont, said Nicholette Ruiz, the chamber’s director of government affairs and public policy.
The letter pointed out El Paso’s allocation has been less than that for “communities of smaller size and population.”
El Paso is the sixth largest metropolitan area in the state with nearly 3 million people on its roads. The chamber’s analysis found that of 14 districts of comparable population, the region received the 12th most state transportation funding.
Since the letter, the chamber has had more productive conversations with TxDOT, Ruiz said.
“It wasn’t so much as going back and forth and nitpicking the numbers and the analysis we did,” Ruiz said. “It was, ‘What is the one thing that the El Paso community needs? Let’s go from there. Let’s move forward.’”
El Paso Chamber CEO Andrea Hutchins said meetings have been held virtually and in person, calling the conversations fruitful and ongoing. She said Texas Transportation Commissioner Alejandro “Alex” Meade has also made some trips to El Paso to keep an open dialogue.
The one big ask is for I-10 repairs, especially along one of the oldest sections that run through Downtown El Paso, Ruiz said.
“It’s in dire need of maintenance,” Ruiz said. “They’re also looking at extending it, just really updating and modernizing the highway.”
She pointed out that I-10 “is our main highway. That’s our lifeline.”
TxDOT spokeswoman Laura Butterbrodt said the agency has heard the issues raised by the chamber.
“The Texas Department of Transportation understands the importance of improved mobility in the El Paso District and the region’s status as a hub for international trade and commerce,” she said. “We are committed to working with our partners in El Paso to address the most critical transportation needs and support economic growth in the region.”
She cited that, despite El Paso having fewer highway lane miles than other TxDOT districts, funded allocations for the district have increased 344% since 2016, from around $500 million to more than $2 billion.
The I-10 Downtown project, which is budgeted to cost $700 million, still needs about $300 million in additional funding, said Eduardo Calvo, the executive director of the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The Downtown I-10 project has been a priority for the MPO since 2019, and the organization has been working to acquire more funding each year, Calvo said.
The MPO hopes to have the project ready for construction in 2025, but Calvo said design and preliminary engineering take time.
“If the project is ready, we would love to have the funding ready in fiscal year 2025,” Calvo said. “It would be a tremendous thing if we’re able to do that.”
TxDOT is working with El Paso on the 2025 budget, Butterbrodt said.
Calvo said a key element to securing more funding is showing up and voicing priorities. I-10 is the gateway to Texas from the West Coast, making it a crucial highway in the state, Calvo said, but El Paso can’t let people forget its importance.
“We need to show up. Sometimes it is difficult for El Paso to do this, because we really are so far away (from Austin),” Calvo said. “But at the same time, that’s our challenge, so we need to show up.”
Calvo said that not pushing the conversation can send the message that the city doesn’t care.
“Being active and showing up and especially keeping a positive message is tremendously important,” he said.
Olivia Dilley is an El Paso Matters intern and a student at the University of Texas at Austin.
