EL PASO, Texas -- As the U.S gets ready to withdraw thousands of troops from Iraq, local leaders prepare for troops to arrive in the El Paso area.

Soldiers and their families continue to arrive in El Paso, but is the city ready to accommodate more people on top of the community's natural growth?

City leaders said several agencies have been working on growth projects. Strides have been made, but there's still work do to.

El Paso has experienced rapid growth, partly because of the influx of troops coming to Fort Bliss. The post is expecting 24,000 troops and some are already here.

"You'll see a little bit of a blip in retail, you'll see demand for apartments if they're not allowed to live on post, if those soldiers got rid of their cars, you'll see activity in new and used car sales as well," said Mathew McElroy, the deputy director in the Development Services Department.

Shop owners welcome the business, but how is the city accommodating growth? McElroy said several projects surrounding Ft. Bliss have begun. The first section of Spur 601 was completed. It connects to Loop 375 to Global Reach on the eastside. This should help make the continued expansion of East Fort Bliss more accessible from the Northeast and East sides of El Paso.

"The city has spent money of its own on construction projects. The city contributed $10 million to the extension of Global Reach to connect it to the Spur. It's a direct connect to an access control point to Ft. Bliss so cars don't back up on to Montana," said McElroy.

McElroy said the city is short several thousand single-family homes for soldiers who will be living outside the post.

"You're looking at an impact on the city of El Paso about $3.3 billion dollars per year in terms of spending," McElroy said.

McElroy said a regional growth management plan will be presented to council on Oct. 27.