El Paso, Texas - Westbound Texas State Loop 375 through Franklin Mountains (Transmountain Road) 

European Roads : It's such a stupendous drive...Jim's going to feature it in the eastbound direction (per my advice to him)...the views of downtown El Paso and Juarez are literally jaw-dropping!

It's not often that I proclaim a stretch of road to be a "must see" attraction, but this is really a stretch of divided highway/freeway that truly deserves a drive. Both directions are spectacular; if you're driving at night, head east onto this road from I-10 in the northwestern part of El Paso. Once you get to the top of the grade and start heading down, you'll see the city lights of El Paso and Juarez for many miles down below. Truly unforgettable.

Atypical Lavender : A lot of people think of Texas as being one ginormous flat prairie, but there's obviously a lot more to the state than that. My next El Paso video (to be released in 2 to 3 weeks from now) will give you a good perspective of all the surrounding mountain ranges. Yes, it's a pretty big city, indeed.

ambivalent ambiguity I agree. I definitely enjoy taking this route and trying to avoid I-10 mess as much as possible.

Yeah, it's incredible stuff! El Paso = one of my favorite mid-sized cities to drive around.

That's because outsiders think Texas ain't nothin but boring flat wheat fields and tumbleweeds and vast flat cattle ranches! If you want all that typical Texas stereotypes, then go to Ammarillo or Lubbock and eat your heart out!!!!

InterstateKyle : Try US 62/80 through Guadalupe National Park at the very northwestern edge of the state...incredible stuff!

Try driving it at 2:30 AM! Nothing like having extremely light traffic on the steep and winding 4-lane divided highway with mountains all around you and the bright as fuck city lights of El Paso as well as Ft Bliss far below shining so damn bright!!!! It's an awesome experience this flatlander won't soon forget!!!

IsoscelesKramer : This was my very first time driving it...had seen ScrewdupClickV2's video of it, going eastbound. What a bad ass drive! My jaw was literally dropping when I drove it eastbound...which I believe is the better direction, but I didn't want to wait until 3 or 4 PM the day I drove this, in order to film it without sun glare. I had another 600 miles to Austin that day, lol.

JMV FRVA : Thank you! More from El Paso, coming soon.

It really is! My mouth was practically open, the entire time I was up there at the 5,000 foot level. El Paso is awesome, from a driving perspective.

mcpish : Yeah, the descent is awesome! I honestly don't remember what the old interchange looked like, as the last time I drove through El Paso was in 2010. Fuzzy memory at this point.

Anthony B : I recorded this in a 2015 Kia Rio LX hatchback. Bought it brand new in January; figured a nice road trip to Texas and the Great Plains would be a nice way to break it in!

Thanks ! And what car did you owned before ?

+Anthony B : Oh shoot, I didn't see that you responded, lol. Sorry. Before that, I was driving a 2009 Toyota Corolla.

Ok ! Was it with an automatic or manual transmission ?

Thanks, man! Yeah, the Transmountain Road is probably the greatest urban freeway/highway in the entire state. The views are jaw-dropping, and the roadway is very well engineered. If you want, I've got one more ride from the region...about 45-50 minutes east of El Paso, showcasing eastbound I-10. Here's the direct link. Cheers! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-p-44Jo-am2U.html

You're so right about the Mexican people - I was career air force stationed mostly around San Antonio and worked with lots of them - they were terrific!!! So many great memories - in my opinion, we should have an exchange program where we deport white people and bring in more Mexicans - the ones I knew were workaholics!!!

Yup, yup. Once you go a bit further east, the speed limit rises to 80 MPH. There's even a toll freeway in central Texas with an 85 MPH limit (Texas State Toll Route 130). There's also 80 MPH limits in Utah, Montana, Idaho, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Skyethur come to india..same kind of roads..no speed limit..plz try..but you need to have maneuvering skills..drive on yamuna express way here

Speed limit is 60 on that stretch of I-10 (just drove it today) :)

The speed limit there has since been reduced to 60, but once you hit Hudspetch County going east, it bumps up to 85.

How did I miss your comment, this entire time? My apologies. Yeah, this drive is seriously nothing short of spectacular. One of my favorite urban drives anywhere in the US. Highly recommend!

Tyred: Yeah...you really don't see many popular images of Texas with towering mountains, but there's all sorts of dramatic mountains in the far western reaches of the state. Another place you should try looking up on Google is Palo Duro Canyon State Park. Located just southeast of Amarillo. It's literally the 2nd largest canyon system in the United States, behind the Grand Canyon. The flat grasslands of the Texas Panhandle suddenly give way to a 1,000 foot drop into a massive canyon system.

@@FreewayBrent FYI....They call that the Caprock.......runs down the middle of a considerable part of the panhandle and South Plains

edgexxi : Had no idea you were from there. There's at least 1, if not 2 more videos coming from El Paso soon!

Glad you enjoyed watching!

InterstateJD : This really should be on your bucket list for must-see drives. I can't really emphasize how stupendously amazing the views are, especially if you're heading east. The 8% grades going down and the views of downtown El Paso and Juarez a few thousand feet below are jaw-dropping!

Main. That's bad. Maybe you should consider a bicycle next time.

TheSolarcatcher : It is truly spectacular. That is no hyperbolic statement either; especially going eastbound, you can see the downtown skyline and Juarez, 3,000 feet below. So bad ass!

***** : I agree! It's probably the best scenic urban, 4 lane divided highway in the entire state of Texas, and out of all the 4 lane divided highways, probably in the top 2 or 3 most scenic in the entire state.

Where are the other 2?

Steve Stotts I’ve been driving it once a week for the last 5 months in a rig too. Love the view especially at night.

Thanks!

+Carlos Rosa : Hey there, Carlos. Thanks for dropping by and watching! Yeah...this drive is freakin' awesome as heck. Drove it for the very first time, earlier during the morning I filmed this, but in the other direction...I believe those views are even more impressive, but I didn't have enough time to wait throughout the day to film this heading eastbound (when I would have more favorable lighting conditions with the sun behind the vehicle) as I had a long drive to Austin. If you want...I have 1 more video in El Paso, showcasing I-10 through town. Different feel and energy to the video. Here's the direct video link. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-E331gGqiD3w.html

+carol parker : You're very welcome! Reading comments like yours, makes it worthwhile to put these videos together. I'm currently working on my Australian series of videos...if you're curious, I'll link you to the first one I did in January, showcasing the West Gate Bridge & West Gate Freeway into the heart of Melbourne. Link is readily available, below my comment. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1N06_VPb19g.html

Hey I am originally from Poland, but I live in the Netherlands now. I have been on a study trip in Texas with my group with the starting point in Houston and our final destination was El Paso/Ciudad Juarez. The video you posted is what we loved about that road trip and we loved Texas. The nature is completely different to what we can find in Europe. It has changed my perspective and I hope to come back soon. Best wishes from the NL

Glad you enjoyed watching!

Oh hey, that's awesome! Yeah, it's a phenomenal drive, and one that you might not realize even exists if you're just sticking to I-10 (which I also have a video of). As for the song artist and title, I always list the info at the end of every video, but just to make it easier, it's "Intro" by XX.

@@FreewayBrent Thank you!

Thanks, man! I know you've been one of my loyal subscribers for a long time now. Feel free to drop by to check out my newest Australia video releases, when you have some time.

FreewayBrent I have been, and you've been doing a great job with those!!! Keep up the good work!

JN336 Texas is the best state in America!

Yes!!

Hi there. I always list the song artist and title at the end of every video. For this particular video, the artist is The XX, and the song title is "Intro." Thanks for dropping by!

American Roads : Right? The Franklin Mountains are great!

Andrew Silva : Not a crazy question at all. :-) Generally speaking, a "Loop" highway should be a complete, 360 degree loop around the city. In the particular case of Texas Loop 375, it's not 100% complete (yet)...the Texas Department of Transportation is currently planning on building the final 11 miles of it to offer a 100% loop around El Paso, which would bring it up to 60 miles from the current 49 mile length of the route. Once they finalize the route selection, if it passes the environmental review and funds become available, it'll be built. Probably sometime after 2020.

dan Jones : Trust me, it's even more spectacular, seeing this in person. Eastbound is actually the better direction to traverse this along, because you have clearer views of downtown El Paso, Juarez and the surrounding mountain ranges, nearly 3,000 feet below. FreewayJim will be featuring the eastbound direction, early next month!

Thank you! It really is one of the greatest 4 lane divided highways in the desert Southwest, especially in an urban/suburban setting. If you want to see the much busier (and still interesting) Interstate 10 through El Paso, I've got you covered there too. Video link below. Cheers! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-E331gGqiD3w.html

PeteTheChopp : Thank you, man! You really need to check out this drive for yourself, if you're ever in El Paso. I can't emphasize how incredible the views are, if you're heading eastbound...you can see downtown El Paso, all of Juarez and the desert floor, 3,000 feet below for dozens of miles in the distance. As I was telling one of the other viewers, the song choice was a complete accident. While I was editing signs about 3 weeks ago at the coffee house I typically edit my videos at, the song came on and thought it would be a perfect fit for the footage. Sure enough...one edit confirmed the song choice.

Gary Farrow : If you're ever in El Paso...definitely a must-see drive. Incredible views of downtown, Juarez, Mexico and the desert floor below!

Adam Lutes : Yeah, I know exactly what you mean!

I don't, although I wish I did, lol. The copyright owner of the song allows the song to be used with my footage, in return for placing an ad on the video. They receive the monetization benefits, while I'm allowed to use the song.

astey highways : Thanks! This really should be on your bucket list of American roadways to drive, if you ever get the chance to come out. You'll see more mountainous scenery in my next video, to be released in a week or two from now.

countenanceblog : Those connections are on the longer-term list of projects to fund. Ultimately, officials want to make TX 375 a complete loop around El Paso; it's currently being studied.

To do that they would have to shut down and tear out the part of the freeway where it transitions to the boulevard and detour the current traffic from that onto the feeder roads thus limiting the traffic on the freeway lanes to the ones utilizing the elevated ramps as TXDot most likely is gonna have to connect the new connectors directly to the current soon to be 4-lane freeway stub-end!

Oh man, yeah I can only imagine! That's a pretty steep grade for quite a distance.

GoJoMedia Geoff : Thanks for checking in and watching, once again! Hoping to get the next El Paso video out in 2 weeks from now.

I actually haven't been on this part of Highway 375 since I filmed this back in 2015. I finally made it back to El Paso back in January of 2021 for a quick 36 hour visit, but kept my driving mostly limited to I-10, US 54 and the new TX 375 toll route near downtown El Paso. This road is fantastic; still one of my favorite urban rides in America. Thanks for watching!

Justin Brown : Thank you for watching! Yeah...there's several other drives in the far western reaches of Texas that go through some impressive mountain territory, but this is pretty incredible, considering it's within a stone's throw of a major city with over a million people in the metropolitan area...closer to 3 million, if you include the Mexican border city of Juarez.

That entire Franklin Mountains State Park is a real treasure in SW Texas. Definitely makes El Paso the most interesting city in Texas, from both a geological and geographical point of view.

Strassenfeger : You're very welcome!

You're very welcome! This is probably my favorite scenic 4 lane highway in the entire state; it's a pretty epic stretch to drive and see in person.

Smallpox04 : Thank you very much!

+Daniela Loretto : It really is a fantastic ride (and state park). If you want to check out my other El Paso video, it covers the ride along Interstate 10 through town. Here's the link. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-E331gGqiD3w.html

VaFreeways : Wow! VaFreeways comes back out of nowhere to surprise me, lol. Where ya been at, man?

FreewayBrent I knew Jim's 2015 road trip videos were coming and in my feed I saw you had something new out as well. I'm just not as active as I used to be, I guess.

Glad you enjoyed! I absolutely love this drive...I filmed this back in 2015, and finally came back in January of this year. It was just as thrilling in January as it was back in 2015.

You're right, except Denver has it's mountains on only it's west side 5 or so miles away from town while the mountains in El Paso are in the middle of town!!!! Cross the mountains of El Paso from east to west and you're still inside El Paso City!!!

You're very welcome! This is such a jaw-dropping drive, such a great experience.

Yeah, I totally recommend it! One of my favorite urban drives in the country. Sorry I missed your comment; I've been focused on my Sydney and Melbourne series of videos over the past year, and have missed a lot of comments on my other videos. Thanks for watching!

+Grzegorz Pawlak (Siwy) : Cool. Glad you enjoyed the ride!

Mr R : Glad you enjoyed!

Andre Lot : Definitely a lot more like Arizona. A very dry climate. Not quite as hot as Phoenix or Tucson though, due to the fact that El Paso lies at over 3,700 feet in elevation...daytime temperatures average about 95 in the day during July, and about 57 in December and January. By the way, did you get a chance to check out my I-10 video in El Paso that I just released on Sunday night? If not, check it out when you have a chance!

WOW! You were in High School 12 years! Well at least you graduated I presume!

We are glad you left!!!

Yeah, it's a fun part of the whole video editing process! I'd suggest you check out my Auckland Harbour Bridge video....New Zealand highway signs have strikingly similar highway signs.

shoot the tiki6 : Thanks! The choice in music was something of an accident...as I was creating signs for this video, I heard this song play over the speakers at the coffee house I was working at. Apparently, it's been used in a couple of commercials and a popular TV series, but I had never heard it until a few weeks ago. The drive is incredible; you need to check it out for yourself if you're ever in El Paso.