Northwest El Paso Hospital Breaks Ground

Ground was broken last week on a new multi-million dollar Sierra Providence Health Network (SPHN) hospital in Northwest El Paso that will take shape at the corner of Transmountain Road and Resler Drive. Officials touted their partnership with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in making the facility a teaching hospital.

Asarco Cleanup on Pace to Finish in 4th Quarter of 2015

Remediation on the former Asarco site is on schedule and should be completed by the end of 2015.

The 465-acre site will be ready for sale at that point, and the trustee overseeing the cleanup, Roberto Puga, hopes it will be sold in its entirety to one developer.

Years of Construction In Store for I-10 in El Paso

The Texas Department of Transportation's (TXDOT) district engineer, Bob Bielek, states that construction to bring major improvements to Interstate 10 in El Paso may begin as soon as 2017. TXDOT expects to complete the Border Highway West project around that time, which would give the state agency an alternate route when construction on I-10 is at full steam.

Shuttered Fuddrucker's Locations Already Sold

The three El Paso Fuddrucker's locations that closed in recent months have been sold to three different companies, including one that may reopen as a corporate-owned Fuddrucker's.

The West El Paso location at 5030 N. Desert Blvd. was sold to Luby's Inc., the owner of the Fuddrucker's brand nationwide. The company has stated the location may reopen again as a Fuddrucker's.

Coronado Tower’s $2M Rehab Nearly Complete

The 11-story Coronado Tower on El Paso’s West Side is nearing completion of a $2 million renovation. 

Improvements to the building include new elevators, painting, walls, flooring, landscaping, and heating and cooling replacement. 

Sun Bowl Drive Rock Hammer Use to Be Limited to Certain Hours

After complaints from residents in surrounding neighborhoods, the contractor working on Sun Bowl Drive will limit use of the noisy hydraulic hammer to normal work hours. The piece of construction equipment is used to break rock off of the mountainside to assist with widening of the UTEP street. 

Bus Rapid Transit Work to Close Two Lanes on Mesa Street

Two lanes on Mesa Street southbound will closed beginning Monday, December 9, due to construction of a Brio Rapid Transit station near Sun Bowl Drive. The lane closures should be in place for one week.

Cinemark Movie Bistro Now Open at Sunland

Cinemark’s latest concept movie theater, Cinemark Movie Bistro, has opened at El Paso’s Sunland Park Mall, only the second location in the country. The theater opened last Friday.

The theater serves expanded menu items, like hamburgers and pizzas, as well as alcohol. Visitors can expect large seats with eating trays. The auditoriums contain non-stadium seating.

Visit the Movie Bistro's website for more details.

Country Club Road Closes Completely

The City of El Paso has been forced to close Country Club Road from Doniphan Drive to Love Road due to unforeseen obstacles. Road crews discovered buried AT&T telephone lines that were not disclosed by the communications company prior to the start of construction. 

Schuster Ramp to Close During Weekends

The Interstate-10 eastbound entrance ramp from Schuster Avenue will close for 15 consecutive weekends beginning Saturday, November 16, 2013. 

UTEP Recycling Rocks in Sun Bowl Project

The project to widen Sun Bowl Drive at the University of Texas at El Paso requires removing some of the natural mountain surface to make room for the new lanes, and the school wants to re-use the crushed rock.

Spur 1966 Columns Now Sprouting from Parking Lot

Columns that will support Spur 1966, the Schuster extension over Interstate 10, can now be seen coming up from the parking lot floor. 

Across I-10, crews are in the early stages of demolishing the Yandell overpass to make way for the Spur. 

City Bike Plan in the Works

City officials are using $100,000 in federal funds to develop a Bike Plan for El Paso. The City focused on five surface streets over the summer, using cameras to gather bike usage statistics on Hondo Pass Avenue and Rushing Road in Northeast El Paso, Belvidere Street and Redd Road in West El Paso, and Edgemere Boulevard in East El Paso.

Hospital for West EP Could Spring Up Within Two Years

Dr. Jose Manuel de la Rosa

Plans for a West El Paso hospital surfaced last week when University Medical Center's CEO, Jim Valenti, mentioned it in a newsletter. This week, El Paso Inc. received more details on the plans from Dr. Jose Manuel de la Rosa, the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine's founding dean.

New Hospital for West El Paso?

University Medical Center's CEO, Jim Valenti, may have revealed plans by Texas Tech to build a new hospital in West El Paso. That's according to an item in this week's "Whispers" section of El Paso Inc. According to the blurb, Valenti expressed concerns about losing UMC staff to the new hospital in an internal memo. 

Work Begins on Widening of Sun Bowl Drive

UTEP's On the Move website has details concerning the widening of Sun Bowl Drive by the Texas Department of Transportation. The $4.4 million project will add an additional lane in each direction and should take 10 months to complete.

'Fountains' Developer Shifts Focus to West Side

The Dallas-based developer that's helping bring the Fountains at Farah to El Paso will also develop 100 acres of land in West El Paso into a shopping center. A story on kvia.com states that the Centergy Retail could open the future center by 2015.