El Paso Water's $10 million pipe replacement work to bring East Side traffic headaches

Vic Kolenc, El Paso Times
·2 min read

Motorists should be prepared for some traffic headaches at several East El Paso intersections over the coming weeks and months as El Paso Water begins a $10 million project to replace portions of five water mains.

First up is the area near the busy intersection of Lee Trevino and Vista del Sol drives, where work was scheduled to begin Thursday and be completed in June.

Lanes will be closed and shifted on Lee Trevino, from Pellicano Drive to just past Vista del Sol Drive.

Four other East Side intersections will be affected at various times during the two-year project.

El Paso Water is replacing large, metal water lines with plastic, corrosion-resistant pipe.

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Lanes on Lee Trevino Drive, between Pellicano Drive and just past Vista del Sol Drive, will have lane closures due to an El Paso Water pipe replacement project that's scheduled to end in June.
Lanes on Lee Trevino Drive, between Pellicano Drive and just past Vista del Sol Drive, will have lane closures due to an El Paso Water pipe replacement project that's scheduled to end in June.

The old, metal pipes cross natural gas pipelines that use an electrical current to fight corrosion. However, exposure to the electric charges over time can increase the chance of corrosion in the metal water pipes, increasing the chances of water leaks or pipe breaks, utility officials said.

“EP Water is proactively completing this work before there’s a water main break, minimizing the impact to our customers,” Irazema Rojas, the utility’s chief technical officer, said in a statement.

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The utility is spending $1.7 million to replace 450 feet of one water main and about 100 feet of another water main running under the northbound lanes of Lee Trevino, between Armour and Vista del Sol drives, Denise Parra, an EP Water spokesperson, said in an email.

The busy intersection of Lee Trevino and Vista del Sol drives in East El Paso, as shown Wednesday, will be affected by El Paso Water's four-month project to replace water mains under Lee Trevino.
The busy intersection of Lee Trevino and Vista del Sol drives in East El Paso, as shown Wednesday, will be affected by El Paso Water's four-month project to replace water mains under Lee Trevino.

Water mains will be replaced around four other intersections. Each phase will begin after the previous phase is completed. Each phase will take about four months to complete.

Here are the four other intersections, listed in order of the work schedule:

  • Yarbrough Drive at Kinross Avenue, to begin in summer 2023.

  • Lee Trevino Drive at Pebble Hills Boulevard

  • Airway at Viscount boulevards

  • Yarbrough at Vista del Sol drives

Utility officials plan to keep people updated on the progress of the water main replacements through the project Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/epwaterpipelineprotection

Workers replace water mains in 2018 near George Dieter and Rex Baxter drives in East El Paso. This is similar to work to be done on El Paso Water lines under Lee Trevino Drive, between Vista del Sol and Pellicano drives from late February through June.
Workers replace water mains in 2018 near George Dieter and Rex Baxter drives in East El Paso. This is similar to work to be done on El Paso Water lines under Lee Trevino Drive, between Vista del Sol and Pellicano drives from late February through June.

Vic Kolenc may be reached at 546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Water's $10M water main work to bring East Side traffic woes