Texas State Highway Loop 375

State Highway Loop 375
State Highway Loop 375
	Wikimedia \| © OpenStreetMap Loop 375 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by TxDOT
Length	49.21 mi (79.20 km)
Existed	1963–present
Major junctions
	Beltway around El Paso, TX
CCW end	I-10 / US 85 / US 180 in El Paso
	US 54 in El Paso; US 62 / US 180 in El Paso; I-10 in El Paso; US 54 in El Paso;
CW end	US 62 / US 85 in El Paso
Location
Counties	El Paso
Highway system

Loop 375 is a beltway that partially encircles the city of El Paso, Texas. The beltway is mostly a freeway, except for its northern section, which includes at-grade intersections. The highway passes through various areas of El Paso, funneling traffic within and around the city. The road is known locally under different names, as Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive in the northern section, Purple Heart Memorial Freeway in the northeastern section, Joe Battle Boulevard in the eastern section, the César Chávez Border Highway in the southern section, and the Border West Expressway on the southwest section.

Route description[]

Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive[]

Loop 375 begins clockwise at an intersection with I-10 near Canutillo. Heading east, the highway enters and passes through the Franklin Mountains State Park and the Fort Bliss Castner Range before leaving at Northeast El Paso, where it meets US 54. The highway passes through Northeast El Paso before entering Fort Bliss.

The section through Franklin Mountains State Park includes many road cuts which expose outcrops of Precambrian rocks, which are some of the oldest in Texas.^[2]

Purple Heart Memorial Freeway[]

After entering Fort Bliss, the highway bypasses Biggs Army Airfield to the north and east, and meets Spur 601 east of the airfield, before leaving at an intersection with US 62/US 180 in Southeast El Paso.

Joe Battle Boulevard[]

After leaving Fort Bliss, the highway passes through Southeast El Paso, heading south through residential neighborhoods, before curving southwest to meet I-10 at a stack interchange. Continuing southwest, the highway passes through more neighborhoods before meeting the El Paso Ysleta Port of Entry.

César Chávez Border Highway[]

After meeting the El Paso Ysleta Port of Entry, the highway curves northwest, following the Mexico-United States border along the Rio Grande. Heading into downtown, the highway intersects US 54 at an interchange, passing unter the El Paso BOTA Port of Entry. The highway continues west into downtown, ending at US 62/US 85 Paisano Drive in downtown.

Border West Expressway[]

From downtown, the most recent part of Loop 375, the Border West Expressway, passes through the narrow gap between UTEP and the Mexican border, elevated above the railroad tracks between Interstate 10 and US Route 85 (the CanAm Highway).^[3] The project is intended as an alternate route to I-10 to relieve traffic congestion in and around downtown El Paso.^[4] Funding and construction of the project began in September 2007.^[5] The highway is proposed to be a four lane toll road.^[6] In March 2018, the original completion date estimate of late 2017 was pushed back to May 2019.^[7] The new expressway opened for traffic on October 3, 2019, without tolls initially although it is intended to be a toll road.^[8]

Originally described as a Loop 375 extension, the project was named as Border West Expressway in 2014.^[9] On completion, signs show it as part of Loop 375.

A panoramic view from Sun Bowl Drive at the University of Texas at El Paso, toward the nearby residential neighborhood of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, about 350 m away. This pass full of transportation arteries is the "Paso del Norte" after which El Paso is named, the route of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (royal road of the interior land) from Mexico to Santa Fe. In this narrow valley are the Interstate 10 freeway, the under-construction (in August 2018) Border West Expressway, the Union Pacific and BNSF railroads, US Highway 85 (Paisano Drive, CanAm Highway), a border fence, the American Canal, and the Rio Grande. The new expressway will mostly occupy space above the railroad tracks.
January 2019 construction progress. Note the new ramp behind the UTEP Miners' pickaxe sculpture. This ramp and elevated roadway will carry the westbound lanes of the new expressway; the eastbound lanes are at grade, on the far side of the train tracks.
January 2019 view of another segment, from the Porfirio Diaz Street–Interstate 10 interchange ramp. The border fence, Rio Grande, and Ciudad Juarez are visible under the new elevated roadway.

History[]

Loop 375 was designated on January 26, 1962 from I-10 southeastward, eastward, southeastward, and southward to the Zaragosa International Bridge. On January 1, 1965, the section of FM 259 from I-10 to US 80 (now SH 20) became part of Loop 375. On April 1, 1968, Loop 375 was extended northwestward 12.5 miles, and the section to the Zaragosa International Bridge became a spur connection. On January 29, 1991, the section from SH 20 northeast to Loop 375 was also added, which when constructed, the old route of Loop 375 was to be deleted. On April 24, 2008, this section was deleted, but was restored as Spur 276 on July 31, 2008, but this was changed to Spur 16 on July 26, 2012, probably due to a reference to the old Loop 16.

Future[]

The Texas Department of Transportation announced plans to add toll lanes to the Border Highway portion of Loop 375 between Downtown El Paso and the Ysleta–Zaragoza International Bridge.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, construction commenced on an upgrade of the Transmountain Drive section of Loop 375. This expansion was controversial, as this section passes through the protected Franklin Mountains State Park.^[10]

Exit list[]

The entire route is in El Paso County.

Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
El Paso	0.00	0.00		Spur 16 south (Transmountain Drive west) I-10 / US 85 / US 180 – Las Cruces	Interchange; counterclockwise terminus of Loop 375; I-10 exit 6A; Transmountain Dr. continues west as Spur 16 south
			11A	Northwestern Drive	Interchange; west (counterclockwise) end of freeway; eastbound exit and westbound entrance; westbound access via exit 11B
			11A	I-10 east (US 85 / US 180) – El Paso	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-10 exit 6B
			11B	Resler Drive / Plexxar Drive	Plexxar Dr. replaced by Northwestern Dr. on westbound signage
			12	Paseo Del Norte Drive	Interchange; east (clockwise) end of freeway
			21	US 54 / Kenworthy Street	Interchange; west (counterclockwise) end of freeway; US 54 exit 29
			22	US 54 Bus. (Dyer Street) / FM 2529 (McCombs Street)	Signed as exit 24A westbound
			24	Bomarc Street / Railroad Drive	Signed as exit 24B westbound; Bomarc St. not signed westbound
Fort Bliss			—	Not a Public Exit – Construction Vehicles Only	Access to Biggs Army Airfield and East Fort Bliss
			30	Spur 601 west (Liberty Expressway) – Airport
			32	Iron Medics Drive	Will provide access to the (under construction) William Beaumont Army Medical Center
El Paso			35	US 62 / US 180 (Montana Avenue)
			38	Edgemere Boulevard
			39	Pebble Hills Boulevard
			40	FM 659 (Zaragoza Road) / Montwood Drive	Signed as exit 40B northbound
			40A	FM 659 north (Zaragoza Road)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			41	Vista Del Sol Drive
			42A	Pellicano Drive / Rojas Drive	Signed as exit 42 southbound; signed as Pellicano Dr. only northbound
			42B	Bob Hope Drive	No direct southbound exit (signed at exit 42)
			44	I-10	No direct exits to I-10 east (signed southbound at exit 42 and northbound at exit 45); exits from frontage road signed as 44B (I-10 west) and 44C (I-10 east); I-10 exit 34
			45	FM 76 (North Loop Road) / Rojas Drive
			47	SH 20 (Alameda Avenue) / FM 258 (Socorro Road) / Pan American Drive
			48	Zaragoza Road	to Zaragoza International Bridge
			49	Padres Drive
			—	Plant Road	Eastbound exit and entrance
			51	Yarbrough Drive
			53	Midway Drive
			56	Fonseca Drive
			58	US 54 east to I-10 west
			59	US 62 (Paisano Drive)/Coles Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance via Coles Street
			60A	Campbell Street	Westbound right-in/right-out
			60B	Oregon Street	Westbound right-in only; last westbound exit before tollway
			62	Spur 1966 – UT El Paso
			64	Executive Center Boulevard
			Toll Gantry; electronic toll collection (TxTag or Pay by Mail)
			66A	Doniphan Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			66B	To I-10 east / Sunland Park Drive	Westbound exit only
			66	US 85 (Paisano Drive)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; last eastbound exit before tollway
			—	Race Track Drive	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				I-10 west (US 85 north / US 180 west)	Interchange; clockwise terminus of Loop 375; I-10 exit 13
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access Route transition Unopened

The largest road cut on Transmountain Drive, at the mile-high crest of
Border West Expressway and I-10 in west El Paso
This aerial view of the Mexico–US border near the Sun Bowl stadium in El Paso, Texas, shows the state of construction of the Border West Expressway crossing above the railroad tracks (center), in December 2017. The neighborhood at the lower left is in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.