Westbound On-ramp to I-10 from Executive Reopens

Welcome back, Executive Center on-ramp. Cue the song I keep hearing on the Applebees commercial.

After a nearly 5 years-long shutdown, the westbound on-ramp to I-10 from Executive Center Boulevard is back in your life like a lost lost friend. And it's not just new; it's new and improved.

"You may remember the old on ramp required you to enter high-speed traffic on a blind curve with an immediate merge that was pretty scary," TxDOT El Paso Public Information Specialist Jennifer Wright reminisced via email. "This new ramp takes you through the future interchange with Mesa Park...before merging via a dedicated lane with good sight lines."

So, yay for west side commuters. But don't get all jelly everyone who always whines about the west side getting everything. It's not all unicorns and rainbows on that side of town.

The North Mesa Street Rehab Project, which is a full-depth repair of the roughly 5-mile length of roadway from Baltimore/Glory Road to Sunland Park Drive, will continue to be a fly in an otherwise tasty soup for commuters for a bit longer.

"[Crews are] going to start paving on the southbound section from Mesa Hills to Festival," Wright said. "They’re still working out the utility issues on the northbound segment."

In other words, if your daily commute takes you through the stretch of North Mesa from the UTEP Special Events Center to Sunland Park Drive in either direction you should allow extra time to get to your destination and come prepared with a lot more patience.