EL PASO, TX – The U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) plans to complete the last temporary two-lane traffic shift next month in El Paso, Texas, along the Country Club Road bridge across the Rio Grande. This shift is being made for the last phase of construction of the new gate systems on the bridge.
The new gate systems are part of the ongoing rehabilitation of the flood control levee from Borderland Road to Racetrack Drive. Construction for the new stoplog, or hydraulic engineering control system, at both ends of the Country Club Bridge requires demolition, removal of the existing east side gate and pavement reconstruction.
Construction of these new detention systems at both ends of the Country Club Bridge has been ongoing since October 2023. The work will transition to the final phase of construction and traffic control during the week of January 8, 2024.
The traffic control configuration allows the bridge to remain open to vehicular and pedestrian traffic during construction. Construction and traffic shifting is scheduled for completion on February 29, 2024.
Traffic lanes will be shifted from the current Phase 2 route along the north side of the Country Club Bridge to the south side next to the pedestrian approach for the final Phase 3. This will allow work to be completed on the north side of the bridge.
The levee rehabilitation project extends approximately 0.6 miles along the west levee of the Rio Grande from Country Club Road to Nemexas Drain and approximately 8.4 miles along the east levee of the Rio Grande from upstream of Borderland Road to downstream of Racetrack Drive. IBWC contractors are placing impervious clay on the levee and a deployable cap system on the Country Club Road bridge to improve flood protection.
Construction of the entire project should be completed by March 2025.
