Potential routes for a highway in El Paso’s Mission Valley run alongside a restored wetland called Rio Bosque. Environmental advocates are urging TxDOT to scrap the idea.

By Martha Pskowski

EL PASO—Dozens of people crammed into a conference room on the eastern edge of El Paso on a recent Thursday evening. Some brought signs, some wore T-shirts, others diligently wrote their feedback on notecards. But the message was resounding: Don’t build a highway near our wetland.