Howard and Linda's route through El Paso - great advice!
In Laymans Terms said
05:37 PM Feb 10, 2018
Howard and Linda, we are singing your praises! We travelled from Van Horn, TX to Lordsburg, NM today, and the only part of the trip we were dreading was the drive through El Paso. We had researched a few options to taking the I-10 through the city, and in doing so, stumbled across your Dec. 11 blog post detailing the route you took. I read each portion, and my husband followed along on a map to get the details square in his mind. I also took screen shots of each stage so we could refer to them as we went along. And it was a BREEZE! Using your recommended route, we skirted most of El Paso to the north and it took about half an hour - and this on a Saturday morning! We barely hit any lights and absolutely no construction. In the event anyone is interested in doing the same, I've taken the liberty to copy and paste the text from their blog post, below. If you want, there are pictures that accompany that you can see if you check out the original post.
Trust us, we are complete newbies from small-town Saskatchewan and this route was completely stress-free! Thank you again, Howard and Linda :)
From the Dec. 11 blog: "As I mentioned yesterday, taking I-10 through the middle of El Paso is one of our least favorite routes with our 39-foot fifth wheel. We have encountered heavy traffic, lots of construction, crazy drivers, and it has always been stressful. Of course on any given day at any given time, it could be fine. But it has been such an issue for us in the past, we decided to travel on Sunday for better odds.
However, since it has been a few years, we looked closer at our maps, and we noticed TX-375 which bypasses El Paso to the north. However, our Mountain Directory For Truckers, RV, & Motorhome Drivers (our go-to guide for checking mountain passes) indicated the grades crossing the Franklin Mountains were not exactly RV-friendly for long, heavy RVs.
With a little more research, I found many RVers were taking a portion of TX-375 when going east to west, but then taking an alternate route just before going up into the mountains. We took the alternate route which I've indicated on the map below, and while there are a couple of tricky spots, it was stress-free going over a small pass north of the mountains.
Below, I have directions and photos for the east to west route and the west to east route.
Directions Going East to West
From I-10 follow the signs to TX-375 Loop North
Continue on TX-375 Loop for about 20 miles (even on a Sunday, the first few miles on TX-375 were busy)
Take Exit 21 toward U.S. 54.
This is where it gets a little tricky. At Exit 21, you have a very short distance to cross two lanes of traffic and get over into the far right lane to turn right at the light before going under the overpass. Depending on the time of day and traffic, that could be nerve-wracking, but just go slow and use your right turn signal as you are coming down the ramp. (Nicole's note: this was not at all difficult - there was no traffic at all when we came off the ramp, and that on a Saturday morning!)
Turn right at the light onto Gateway North Boulevard (there is a Circle K Gas Station on the corner).
On Gateway North, get into the middle lane and just stay IN THAT LANE.
DO NOT get onto U.S. 54. Stay on Gateway North for about a mile and a half.
Turn left onto Kenworthy Street which becomes TX Farm to Market Road 3255 (aka Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) as soon as you go under U.S. 54. Two lanes turn left, and if you stayed in the proper Gateway North lane you shouldn't have had to change lanes at all in this section.
Once you are on FM 3255 it's easy the rest of the way.
Crossing the New Mexico border after about five and a half miles, FM 3255 turns into NM-213 (aka War Road).
After about two and a half miles on NM-213, you'll come to a traffic circle (aka roundabout).
Follow the signs to NM-404 going three quarters of the way around the circle.
From there, it's eight miles back to I-10 over a small pass through Anthony Gap."
Barbaraok said
08:17 PM Feb 10, 2018
Never have figured out why people are so worried about El Paso. We’ve done it both ways, never had a problem, but then we don’t do any major city at ‘rush hour’.
Danny and Cheryl said
09:22 AM Feb 11, 2018
I used to go thru El Paso twice a week for years, I would never consider anything except going straight thru on I-10, same for Dallas on I-30 or Houston on I-10 . Its all in your mind.
In Laymans Terms said
09:17 PM Feb 12, 2018
Good to hear from folks who don't mind the I-10. But I guess some aren't as comfortable or are just interested in an alternative to the traffic, and for them - and us! - this is a great route. Traffic was very light and we sailed happily along :)
jrzygrl64 said
08:52 AM Mar 3, 2018
Bill and I drove around El Paso yesterday (typing this from Deming NM Walmart) on 375 and what an amazing drive! The views were amazing!
Our F350 pulling our 17,000lb 5er pulled just fine up the climb, holding about 45mph, and the exhaust brake held about 45mph down the 8% grade, using the regular brakes just once.
Did I mention the great views?
I’d rather do a route like that vs going through a city any day of the week!
igotjam said
10:32 AM Mar 3, 2018
Have gone the alternate route but I'm another one who would rather use I-10. Yes I-10 can be slow in rush hour but I think its still faster than using 375 etc. The alternate route does take you near the border patrol museum though which is worth a trip.
Second Chance said
06:53 PM Mar 3, 2018
Hmmm... interesting discussion. I'm a Las Cruces native and we pass through El Paso at least a couple of times a year on the way to/from seeing family. Most recently was two weeks ago tomorrow (writing this from Las Cruces at the moment). Since loop 375 opened, I have often used the loop -> 54 => TX 3255/NM 213 -> NM 404 across the Anthony gap to bypass downtown El Paso. This trip, I was in a quandary up until the last rest area east of El Paso. Taking the loop to 404 there are some surface streets and stop lights - and I've sometimes gotten stuck behind heavy equipment on 404 that slows everyone down. The scenery is nice, though. On the other hand, there is a lot of construction right now on I-10 on the west side around Sunland Park. It was Sunday, so I said, "What the heck." We barreled right on through without so much as a slow-down. Of course, just a week or two earlier, parts of I-10 had been closed down on the west side for the construction and the detours on the surface streets were backed up to Mars (the planet - not the Realty company on the east side). Like others have posted, we don't do any major city during rush hour and check ahead of time for construction and planned road closures. Both of these routes are suitable depending on the circumstances.
Howard and Linda, we are singing your praises! We travelled from Van Horn, TX to Lordsburg, NM today, and the only part of the trip we were dreading was the drive through El Paso. We had researched a few options to taking the I-10 through the city, and in doing so, stumbled across your Dec. 11 blog post detailing the route you took. I read each portion, and my husband followed along on a map to get the details square in his mind. I also took screen shots of each stage so we could refer to them as we went along. And it was a BREEZE! Using your recommended route, we skirted most of El Paso to the north and it took about half an hour - and this on a Saturday morning! We barely hit any lights and absolutely no construction. In the event anyone is interested in doing the same, I've taken the liberty to copy and paste the text from their blog post, below. If you want, there are pictures that accompany that you can see if you check out the original post.
Trust us, we are complete newbies from small-town Saskatchewan and this route was completely stress-free! Thank you again, Howard and Linda :)
From the Dec. 11 blog: "As I mentioned yesterday, taking I-10 through the middle of El Paso is one of our least favorite routes with our 39-foot fifth wheel. We have encountered heavy traffic, lots of construction, crazy drivers, and it has always been stressful. Of course on any given day at any given time, it could be fine. But it has been such an issue for us in the past, we decided to travel on Sunday for better odds.
However, since it has been a few years, we looked closer at our maps, and we noticed TX-375 which bypasses El Paso to the north. However, our Mountain Directory For Truckers, RV, & Motorhome Drivers (our go-to guide for checking mountain passes) indicated the grades crossing the Franklin Mountains were not exactly RV-friendly for long, heavy RVs.
With a little more research, I found many RVers were taking a portion of TX-375 when going east to west, but then taking an alternate route just before going up into the mountains. We took the alternate route which I've indicated on the map below, and while there are a couple of tricky spots, it was stress-free going over a small pass north of the mountains.
Below, I have directions and photos for the east to west route and the west to east route.
Directions Going East to West
From I-10 follow the signs to TX-375 Loop North
Continue on TX-375 Loop for about 20 miles (even on a Sunday, the first few miles on TX-375 were busy)
Take Exit 21 toward U.S. 54.
This is where it gets a little tricky. At Exit 21, you have a very short distance to cross two lanes of traffic and get over into the far right lane to turn right at the light before going under the overpass. Depending on the time of day and traffic, that could be nerve-wracking, but just go slow and use your right turn signal as you are coming down the ramp. (Nicole's note: this was not at all difficult - there was no traffic at all when we came off the ramp, and that on a Saturday morning!)
Turn right at the light onto Gateway North Boulevard (there is a Circle K Gas Station on the corner).
On Gateway North, get into the middle lane and just stay IN THAT LANE.
DO NOT get onto U.S. 54. Stay on Gateway North for about a mile and a half.
Turn left onto Kenworthy Street which becomes TX Farm to Market Road 3255 (aka Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd) as soon as you go under U.S. 54. Two lanes turn left, and if you stayed in the proper Gateway North lane you shouldn't have had to change lanes at all in this section.
Once you are on FM 3255 it's easy the rest of the way.
Crossing the New Mexico border after about five and a half miles, FM 3255 turns into NM-213 (aka War Road).
After about two and a half miles on NM-213, you'll come to a traffic circle (aka roundabout).
Follow the signs to NM-404 going three quarters of the way around the circle.
From there, it's eight miles back to I-10 over a small pass through Anthony Gap."
Our F350 pulling our 17,000lb 5er pulled just fine up the climb, holding about 45mph, and the exhaust brake held about 45mph down the 8% grade, using the regular brakes just once.
Did I mention the great views?
I’d rather do a route like that vs going through a city any day of the week!
Hmmm... interesting discussion. I'm a Las Cruces native and we pass through El Paso at least a couple of times a year on the way to/from seeing family. Most recently was two weeks ago tomorrow (writing this from Las Cruces at the moment). Since loop 375 opened, I have often used the loop -> 54 => TX 3255/NM 213 -> NM 404 across the Anthony gap to bypass downtown El Paso. This trip, I was in a quandary up until the last rest area east of El Paso. Taking the loop to 404 there are some surface streets and stop lights - and I've sometimes gotten stuck behind heavy equipment on 404 that slows everyone down. The scenery is nice, though. On the other hand, there is a lot of construction right now on I-10 on the west side around Sunland Park. It was Sunday, so I said, "What the heck." We barreled right on through without so much as a slow-down. Of course, just a week or two earlier, parts of I-10 had been closed down on the west side for the construction and the detours on the surface streets were backed up to Mars (the planet - not the Realty company on the east side). Like others have posted, we don't do any major city during rush hour and check ahead of time for construction and planned road closures. Both of these routes are suitable depending on the circumstances.
Rob