Project Profile: Border West Expressway

photo credit: Border West Expressway Website

Location	El Paso, Texas
Project Sponsor	Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
Program Areas
Mode	Toll Highway
Description	The Border West Expressway project is located west of downtown El Paso, south of I-10 and extends approximately 7.4 miles from Racetrack Drive near Doniphan Road and New Mexico 273 East to US 54 east of downtown El Paso. The project consists of: Construction of a four-lane toll road on elevated structure from Racetrack Drive to the end of the existing Loop 375 near Santa Fe Street (approximately 5.6 miles) Reconstruction of existing Loop 375 lanes from Santa Fe Street to Park Street on elevated structure providing access to local traffic and remaining non-tolled (approximately 1.8 miles) Addition of multi-ramp interchanges connecting Executive Center Boulevard and Spur 1966 Construction of a multi-ramp interchange connecting Loop 375 with Paisano Drive (US 85) and Delta Street, providing eastbound and westbound access to the city's center The project will close the Loop 375 gap that currently exists along the border in the downtown El Paso area and create an alternate route to I-10, improving system reliability and regional mobility. Currently only I-10 provides continuous high-speed, east-west connectivity through El Paso. The existing Loop 375 and US 85 (Paisano Drive) have numerous signalized intersections and heavy pedestrian activity. The project's design-build contract includes a comprehensive maintenance agreement with three 5-year terms, the first of which is mandatory. The project's developer must perform routine, preventative, and lifecycle maintenance of all assets, as well as incident management.
Cost	Total project cost - $639.5 million Design-build contract - $448.3 million Right-of-way acquisition - $102 million Tolling/ITS equipment - $22 million Other capital costs - $67.9 million Maintenance costs (estimated) Maintenance, Years 1-5 - $10.7 million Maintenance, Years 6-15 - $51.2 million
Funding Sources	Texas Mobility Fund resources - $639.5 million (design-build costs, right-of-way; additional right-of-way from the City of El Paso)
Project Delivery / Contract Method	Design-build with maintenance contract
Private Partner	Abrams-Kiewit, JV J.D. Abrams, L.P. Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. Other Private Partners Kellogg, Brown & Root Services, Inc. Roy Jorgensen Associates, Inc.
Project Advisors / Consultants	Advisors to TxDOT Nossaman KPMG Jacobs
Lenders	None
Duration / Status	Design-build agreement executed August 2014. Construction began March 2015. Service commencement expected October 2017. Final acceptance expected February 2018.
Financial Status	The project was originally envisioned to be federally funded, but the state has advanced construction with funds from the Texas Mobility Fund (TMF) due to availability. The TMF is a state revolving fund capitalized with pledged revenues from various motor vehicle and driver fees and other miscellaneous sources. The Texas Transportation Commission is authorized to sell bonds secured by a pledge against these funds. TMF funds are being used for the project's full cost.
Innovations	Tolls are expected to vary by time of day to accommodate varying levels of traffic. Much of the roadway will be built on structure to elevate it above the Rio Bravo's floodplain and accommodate existing railroad right-of-way. The project utilizes a 15-year, two-term performance-based Comprehensive Maintenance Agreement (COMA), a feature TxDOT has recently applied to several design-build contracts to help achieve greater consideration of the facility's long-term maintenance in the developer's design.
Related Links / Articles	TxDOT Project Website Development Partner Website Design-build-maintain Development Agreement Texas Transportation Commission Presentation - April 24, 2014 Texas Mobility Fund Financial Reports
Contacts	Robert Bielek, DPA, PE El Paso District Engineer Texas Department of Transportation Tel: (915) 790-4203