Editor’s Note: El Paso Matters is partnering with Gigafact to produce ��fact briefs” that examine claims about issues shaping our community. 

NO.

The Texas Department of Transportation is studying options to extend the César Chávez Border Highway, but none cut through the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park boundaries, TXDoT documents show.

Options presented in a 2014 TXDoT study and most recently this May, map possible extensions to run over or adjacent to the north or south ends of Rio Bosque, a 387-acre park and wildlife refuge in far East El Paso County.

No concepts have moved beyond conception and no funding for the proposed project has been allocated, TXDoT documents show.

The southern portion of Loop 375, Border Highway runs 13 miles parallel to the Rio Grande and connects to Interstate 10. TXDoT is looking to extend the highway more than 20 miles eastbound to the Tornillo-Guadalupe Port of Entry.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

  • Border Highway East Extension Study Presentation (May 1, 2024, Timestamped)
  • TxDoT Border Highway East Corridor study
  • TxDOT Fact Sheet
  • Rio Bosque Wetlands Park information
  • 2014 TXDoT Planning and Environmental Linkages Study: Appendix G: Affected Environment Technical Report (page 23, line 40)

Brandy Ruiz is an audience engagement reporter at El Paso Matters. She joined the staff in 2021 as a social media intern, completed a summer fellowship at the Texas Tribune and graduated with a degree...