October 11, 2023 700 PM
TRI-COUNTY — The Texas Department of Transportation, El Paso District, will be accepting public comments until this Friday, October 13, on two proposed stretches of bike lanes alongside highways in Presidio and Brewster counties. If all goes according to plan, the projects are slated to begin construction in March of 2024.
One of the proposed sets of bike lanes would span U.S. 67/90 between Marfa, where 67 intersects with State Highway 17, and the Brewster County line, according to presentation materials provided by TxDOT.
That project will consist of 6-foot dedicated bike lanes on both sides of the road within Marfa, until about South Spring Street, according to TxDOT spokesperson Lauren Macias-Cervantes. After Spring Street, “bike accessible shoulders” varying in width from 5 to 10 feet will be placed on both sides of the highway, up until the Brewster County line.
That project has an estimated completion date of summer 2024 and will cost approximately $16,394,258.35, according to presentation materials.
The path of a proposed bike lane that would traverse a stretch of Highway 118 heading south into Alpine and terminating at Avenue E. Image courtesy of the Texas Department of Transportation.
The other project would span a stretch of Highway 118 — or Ranch Road 1837 — traveling south into Alpine, ending at Avenue E. It will consist of 5-foot “bike accessible shoulders” on both sides of the highway beginning at the Brewster/Jeff Davis county line up until John West Road in Alpine, said Macias-Cervantes, at which point there will be 5-foot dedicated bike lanes with a 3-foot buffer on both sides of the highway until East Lockhart Avenue. “Share the road signs” will be installed after the bike lanes’ termination at Lockhart Ave.
That project is slated for a spring 2026 completion date, and will cost approximately $5,281,658.28.
The bike lanes are part of a broader initiative from TxDOT’s El Paso District to introduce more bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure within the district — the Presidio and Brewster County projects are the only components of the plan that fall outside of El Paso County. More information on the project can be found at https://www.txdot.gov/projects/hearings-meetings/el-paso/bike-ped-092823.html.
A public hearing on the project took place on September 28. Citizens who did not attend that meeting may submit their comments by calling 972-560-3029 and leaving a message, emailing [email protected], or mailing written comments to the following address: WSP USA, Attn: El Paso Bike Hearing, 3102 Oak Lawn Ave Suite 450, Dallas, TX 75219. Comments should be submitted or postmarked by Friday, October 13.
Citizens with questions regarding the projects are encouraged to contact Adriana Rodriguez at [email protected] or 915-790-4221.
Any comments made after October 13 “will not be included in the official record but will still be gathered as feedback,” said Macias-Cervantes.
Correction: A previous version of this article described the width of the bike lanes in inches rather than feet. I have nothing to say for myself.
