Installation of San Jacinto Plaza Canopy Underway

After months of delays, a damaged cable, and so-called 'weld issues', it appears there is finally a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

Workers began the job of lifting the canopy frame into place on Monday signaling the final phase of the San Jacinto Plaza renovation.

According to Monica Lombrana, the city's capital improvements department director, once the 40-ton structure is secured and in place, work on the projects that remain can be finished up. "There was a lot we didn't want to install until obviously the canopy's in place because we didn't want to get it damaged, such as the brick pavers, the reflecting pool, [and] the art piece itself," Lombrana told ABC7. The 'art piece' she's referring to is the recently restored “Los Lagartos” statue.

The canopy will serve as both the plaza's centerpiece, and as shade cover to protect the alligator sculpture from the elements. The statue, which has been stored at the El Paso Museum of Art since restoration work on it was completed in April, will be re-installed in a couple weeks, per City of El Paso Project Manager Gilbert Guerrero.

When asked by ABC7 when the entire plaza makeover would officially be completed, Guerrero would not commit to a specific timeline, saying only "early next year."