EPCC is negotiating to purchase the land The so-called “back road” at the Mission del Paso campus is causing lots of frustration for faculty, staff and students, particularly when it gets muddy after it rains.
The main entrance to the campus is on Gateway East along Interstate-10 near Horizon Boulevard, and suffers from heavy traffic at peak hours.
As an alternative, the back road that is partially paved following East Lake that forks in two
different unpaved roads leading towards either North Loop or back to a muddy construction site following the freeway.
According to MdP Dean Santiago Rodriguez, several petitions with over 3,000 signatures complaining about the situation were presented to the EPCC Board of Trustees. Several counselors also made presentations.
According to Arvis Jones, SGA and Campus Life director, this has been a problem since she arrived at EPCC, three years ago.
“SGA met with the transportation committee in Austin and they never did anything,” said Jones. The SGA has also gone before the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) about the problem.
“It’s a very dangerous situation, as it is,” said Jones, referring to the back road. “And it needs to be resolved.” The unpaved part of the road is not owned by EPCC.
“Our biggest concern is our early high school students. Many of them are in their junior year and many will want to drive soon,” said Pat Duran, MdP counselor.
The El Paso Fire Marshall, Victor Acosta, said no set number of exits is required, but highly recommends there always be two ways out of all such properties in case of emergency.
EPCC has been in discussions with the owner of the property, Judge Colbert Coldwell for many years. Recently, it was discovered that many other names appear as part owners of the property, causing the land to fall under the discription of an unclear title.
“The college was at the point where it was going to proceed and buy the land, but as a government entity we have to do a title check and found there were issues with ownership of that land,” said Tim Nugent, vice president of student services.
“We are in negotiation with all the parties, who, we’ve been informed by the title company, have the legal right to the land for an easement to be built or a road to East Lake. … It is one of the highest priorities with us and the Board of Trustees.
“We’re just making sure we have a clear title
to the land.”
Nugent said this is strictly a title issue and has nothing to do with funding of other new projects such as Fort Bliss.
Meanwhile, Nugent said those who travel beyond the pavement on the back road do so at their own risk because they are trespassing on private property.
“They could be cited [by police] because it’s not ours,” said Nugent.
“Some of the faculty and staff went to a board meeting because if there’s an emergency, we can’t get out,” said Miguel Contreras, MdP counselor and member of the MdP Institutional Effectiveness Committee, whose function is to recommend improvements to be made to the college.
Contreras said using the front entrance to get back on the freeway takes time.
“It’s only a four-mile delay, but it takes 20 to 30 minutes to just get onto the freeway.”
According to Dean Rodriguez, MdP was built in 1989 and has always relied on the main entrance and this back access road.
“I’m taking my life into my own hands every time I cross Horizon Boulevard,” said Rodriguez.
So, he sometimes uses the back road.
“A lot of cars have been stuck on the back road,” said Santiago. “Last year traffic on the freeway was so bad that I attempted to go out the back. Cars were already being pulled out of the mud. At night I wouldn’t recommend the road to anyone, it’s very dangerous.”
When asked why he thought the college had taken so long to fix the road, Santiago said, “It seems to be a family issue at this time, but before we thought it was an issue with the city.”
“We have been doing everything we can to seek a solution,” said Ernst Roberts, Executive Assistant to the president.
