July 27, 2018 • EPE Related News
El Paso Times: I-10 West in Downtown to be reduced to 2 lanes after Wednesday night closure for safety
Texas Department of Transportation officials said the freeway was set to be closed from 9 p.m. Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday at the Downtown Mesa Street exit.
Traffic will exit at Mesa Street in Downtown and then re-enter the highway at the Yandell Drive entrance, officials said.
Once the freeway is re-opened Thursday morning, one of the three westbound lanes in Downtown will remain closed until repairs are completed on the utility bridge, a TxDOT spokeswoman said.
She said repairs were expected to start Aug. 15 and be completed within a week.
TxDOT district engineer Bob Bielek said the department is reducing the freeway to two lanes for public safety.
"We have the bridge temporarily shored. ... It's a little bit too close to the travel lane right now for us to feel safe," he said. "If another 18-wheeler or even a big pickup hits that going fast, it could jeopardize the shoring tower, which would mean it would drop a beam on people below it."
Bielek said crews will move the concrete barrier that is 3 feet from the beam out further so there is more clearance.
"The El Paso Electric Co. also needs time to re-establish their utility lines," he said.
Utility crews will put in a temporary electricity line, which will be on the ground along Yandell, then across the bridge, with concrete barriers at Yandell and Wyoming Avenue to keep the public away.
On the afternoon of July 19, a semitrailer driver crashed after losing control while reaching for a water bottle, officials said.
The tractor-trailer drove up a concrete embankment, crashed into a utility bridge over the highway and burst into flames, closing I-10 in both directions for more than a day.
The truck's driver, Abel Garcia of Phoenix, walked away from the burning wreck, suffering burns to his feet and an injured shoulder, he told Channel 9-KTSM.
The crash damaged a concrete bridge holding water, gas, electricity and telephone lines. A shore tower has been set up to support the damaged bridge.
The Texas Department of Transportation estimated the crash caused up to $1 million in damage.
Share this Article
