Towing in Tornillo: roads, rules and where the car goes
Tornillo is a small CDP on the Chihuahua border, and most breakdowns happen on a handful of roads. SH-20 Main Street is the main line through town and ends at Shaffer Road, the end of the 35 mile Alameda corridor. FM-793 is the standard route from town up to I-10, roughly 8 to 10 miles of farm country. The Marcelino Serna Port of Entry approach carries commercial trucks, and a dead truck there is a heavy duty job. Farm trucks and irrigation equipment also quit in fields or on the unpaved IBWC levee maintenance roads, where soft ground after rain means a winch or off road recovery.
Tornillo is outside El Paso city limits, so the city fee caps in Chapter 12.54 do not apply. Texas TDLR statewide maximums apply here unless the county sets lower ones, and a Sheriff tow in unincorporated county goes through the EPCSO Abandoned Motor Vehicle Section at 3850 Justice St., (915) 273-3800 ext. 5431, weekdays 8 to 5. A Sheriff towed car may be at the contracted lot or the EPCSO lot at 12501 Montana Ave., Building F. Storage at a Texas VSF runs $22.85 a day for 25 feet or less, and retrieval needs photo ID, proof of ownership and payment. If a city police unit towed it, the car goes to the city lot at 11615 Railroad Drive, but that is not the normal path here.
Tell the operator the exact spot: SH-20 near a cross street, FM-793, the port approach, or a levee or farm road. Say what the vehicle is, its weight class, and whether it is off pavement or in soft ground. Cell signal at the far east end of the county can be spotty, so give a landmark and stay put if you can. In dust and wind season, low visibility on I-10 makes a shoulder stop more dangerous. Under the Move Over law, move over a lane or slow to 20 mph under the limit for any stopped tow truck with lights on.