Downtown El Paso drivers are about to lose some room on the road. The city is adding a buffered bicycle and pedestrian lane on Campbell Street between Paisano and Missouri, cutting the roadway from three driving lanes down to two, with similar lane reductions coming to Main Street, Mills Street and San Antonio Street.
The $2.6 million Campbell Street project is being funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, with the El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization allocating the money and the City of El Paso kicking in $331,700 as its local match, according to El Paso Inc. The city began work on the lanes earlier this year and expects the project to wrap up by February 2027.
Campbell Street’s New Layout
Campbell Street is described as one of the busiest one-way streets leading out of downtown, which makes the lane reduction a notable change for commuters who rely on it. Street parking along the corridor has been shifted to accommodate the new buffered bike lane, though bus stops will remain on the right-hand side of the street as before.
Beyond Campbell, the city plans to add special shared-use lanes on other downtown streets, with Main Street, Mills Street and San Antonio Street each set to get their own lane reductions. Joaquin Rodriguez, the city’s director of public works, said the city hopes to avoid further weather or Winterfest-related delays, but acknowledged that work downtown is subject to factors outside its control.
A Bigger Highway Overhaul Looms
The downtown lane changes aren’t happening in isolation. The Texas Department of Transportation plans to widen I-10 through downtown, and the current roadway adjustments are described as a preview of the major reconstruction expected once that widening gets underway. TxDOT’s 2027 Unified Transportation Program lists the I-10 project running from Spur 1966 to a point half a mile east of Campbell Street, with an estimated construction cost of $525 million, according to a separate report from El Paso Inc. That planned work includes lane additions, new frontage roads, ramp improvements and new bike and pedestrian paths…