By Bill Fleming, Contributing Author
The intersection is blocked. Again.
It’s become a familiar sight for businesses and drivers in northwest El Paso, Texas, where State Highway 178 (Artcraft Road) meets Interstate 10. The arterial road is a major route from nearby New Mexico to the interstate system. Wind turbine production facilities located about 10 miles west in Santa Teresa, N.M., use the busy road to reach I-10 — and from there, the rest of North America.
The size of the wind blades is the challenge. The blades, typically about 250 feet, are transported along Artcraft Road using specialized, purpose-built trailers. However, because of constraints in the existing right of way and the intersection geometry, the long trailers require a complete closure of the intersection for each transport.
These closures can happen multiple times a day, causing significant delays for the local community and complicating access for businesses at the intersection, a growing commercial area of El Paso.
In addition, the area adjacent to SH 178 (Artcraft Road) has been subject to rapid residential and commercial development in recent years. The area’s recent growth has created the need to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion along the critical route.
The Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) El Paso District developed the SH 178/I-10 Artcraft Interchange Project to address these challenges, enhance safety and increase the reliability of travel in the corridor through improvements of Artcraft Road and the construction of a fully directional interchange at I-10.
The $244 million project let in July 2024, and construction is scheduled to be complete in 2030. Reaching this stage has required a commitment to strong collaboration, flexibility in design considerations and commitment to working with the regional community and the drivers affected by the corridor improvements.
A Complex Corridor
Artcraft Road is a critical connection for residents and commercial operators in northwest El Paso. The existing road runs about 3 miles from the New Mexico State Line to U.S. Interstate 10. It begins as a four-lane arterial and controlled access freeway that crosses the Rio Grande River, transitioning to a busy six-lane urban intersection with extensive commercial development in the heart of El Paso.
The project will upgrade the arterial section by constructing new grade separations with connecting ramps at two main connecting roadways, provide frontage road and ramp improvements east of the Rio Grande River, new turnaround bridges at I-10 and four new direct connectors linking Artcraft Road and I-10.
The upgrades will help keep traffic moving on the busy road, which is expected to get even busier in the coming decades. More than 50,000 vehicles are projected to travel the road to the I-10 interchange, and that number is expected to double in 2055.
Crucially, the addition of direct connection ramps to I-10 will accommodate the wind blades that are transported on the road and eliminate the need for them to navigate the existing intersections. The direct connectors also will improve access for those traveling to or from the nearby intermodal facility at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.
The port of entry has ranked as high as fifth among U.S.-Mexico crossings in terms of trade, with more than $31 billion in goods passing through the border crossing each year. The Santa Teresa region now accounts for approximately 63% of New Mexico’s exports to the world. With the completion of Texas’ Artcraft Project, local and long-distance freight users will benefit from more reliable travel times with improved safety.
An Adaptable Design Process
The flexibility to change the design was a key element in the successful project delivery.
HDR was brought on board to complete final design while the preliminary schematic design was still under development. The HDR team worked to improve constructability in this highly fluid period of project development while the environmental process was on-going.
Input from public hearings on the preliminary design and changes in the bicycle and pedestrian accommodation requirements also resulted in many design refinements as the team progressed into final design, as did challenges identified by the detailed 3D project model.
An additional pivot point occurred when a critical parcel along the right of way was determined to be potentially historic. This risked delaying the project. In response, the design team modified the alignment, shifted the frontage road away from the planned property acquisition and accommodated a new noise wall. This also allowed an opportunity for the final design team to eliminate several shoulder width design exceptions along these realignments, providing safer driving conditions for road users.
The bridge design also was adjusted during final design due to contractor feedback. As a best practice, the TxDOT El Paso District shares in-progress plans following major submittals with the contracting community through the local branch of Associated General Contractors. Contractors are given the opportunity to comment, make suggestions and gain early insight into upcoming projects.
The initial bridge design for the interchange utilized TxDOT prestressed U-beams with trapezoidal steel box girders for longer spans. This design was chosen to match the aesthetics of existing bridges on the Artcraft Road corridor, but feedback from 60% of the contractor review meetings suggested that the use of U-beams could limit potential fabricators and result in higher construction costs.
Knowing that funding would be tight on the project, TxDOT directed that the design be revised to the more widely fabricated Tx I-girder shapes and steel plate girders. This resulted in a complete redesign of nearly the entire interchange and the revision of over 500 sheets in approximately four months, between 60% and 90% of the plans.
The design also was adjusted to accommodate future needs of local industry. Since one of the project goals was reducing traffic due to wind blade transportation, the design team met with the major delivery companies to understand their operational needs. The meetings included information on the timing of the interchange construction and potential detours.
During discussions, local transport companies requested that the new interchange be designed to accommodate potential blades up to 275 feet in the future, longer than the current 250 feet. A custom AutoTurn template was created to model the transport of a 275-foot blade through each existing intersection and direct connector.
Construction phasing details were prepared to minimize impacts to the wind blade delivery operations and the final widths of each direct connector were confirmed to accommodate the longer wind blade.
Designed with the Community
Constant communication and coordination with all stakeholders invested in the project area has been an important part of creating a successful design.
Within the footprint of the Artcraft project, a separate project to widen I-10 is currently under construction to provide additional lane capacity and ramp modifications.
TxDOT hosted a critical coordination meeting between the I-10 Widening and Artcraft Interchange design teams, challenging them to identify potential conflicts or overlapping scope between the projects to avoid throwaway work or costly rework.
Several locations were identified where intelligent transportation system ground boxes, controller hubs and fiber lines could be moved. The team also determined more favorable locations for high mast illumination poles, and drainage and pond work was deferred to the later Artcraft Project — saving TxDOT significant costs by minimizing redundant work.
Utility coordination was essential. Nine active utility companies work within the project corridor, requiring clear communication regarding the scope and schedule of the project. Early subsurface utility exploration (SUE) activities were critical to supplement available as-built data and identify potential conflicts.
The HDR team identified 243 potential conflicts. Each conflict was evaluated to determine if it could be avoided, minimized or mitigated. The utility conflict matrix was updated regularly and used as a tool to drive the coordination process. For conflicts that could not be avoided, the design team worked with utility representatives to expedite the utility’s relocation plans, confirmed that relocation plans met the proper clearance required and prepared the appropriate permits to move the utility without impacting the construction schedule.
Utility companies met with TxDOT on a bi-weekly basis to coordinate the work on design, relocations and permitting. These meetings played a key role in resolving the number of conflicts. TxDOT also partnered with the city’s water company, including their relocations and improvements in the design plans. This partnering approach will minimize service interruptions and maximize construction efficiency.
Communication was not limited to Texas. The design team recognized that temporary work and traffic impacts would likely occur beyond the state line, where the project’s limits begin. Roll plots and Google KMZ files were shared with the New Mexico Department of Transportation. Plans were updated to accommodate their sign requirements and appropriate details for notifications were incorporated.
When complete, the new Artcraft Road will provide a better interstate connection for local industry, improve travel reliability and safety for travelers of all modes and accommodate the needs of a growing region. Accomplishing this has required a project approach able to adapt as the design progressed and a commitment to collaboration and communication that keeps the project moving forward with the support of the large group of stakeholders invested in its success. The result is a corridor that is designed to make trips easier, safer, more efficient and more reliable for all. RB
Bill Fleming is a roadway leader and senior project manager for HDR and led the firm’s design for the SH 178 Artcraft Road project.
