EL PASO – The 50-year-old Bridge of the Americas is slated to undergo a massive facelift in the coming years. First, however, the parties involved must all come together to find the best path to solution.
The ambitious modernization project has been in the works for more than a decade but got new life in April 2022 when the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated more than $600 million to fund it.
Later that year, Richter Associates was awarded a $820,000 contract for an enhanced feasibility study for the Bridge of the Americas project. The study is set to be completed this month.
“The whole point of the investment is to reduce the carbon footprint of the land port, create more efficient crossing, and ensure that we have a land port that also better protects pedestrians,” El Paso Congresswoman Veronica Escobar says.
The El Paso County Commissioner’s Court has announced its support for Option 1A, also called the “future option.” Escobar described the renderings for Option 1A as “a beautiful land port with solar panels and lots of natural light and a sunken garden for the area that protects and separates pedestrians.”
While the option being supported by the commission does not eliminate truck traffic at the Bridge of the Americas, it does preserve all county and private property in area.
Built in 1967, the Bridge of the Americas sprawls 28 acres of toll-free road for inbound and outbound commercial, non-commercial, and pedestrian traffic.
The next step in the process, which will not kick off until April 2026, will be the announcement of the design award. The construction contract will be awarded in August 2028, with most of the construction expected to be completed by June 2031.