A stretch of U.S. Highway 285 between Loving, N.M., and the Texas border will be repaired and fitted with safety enhancements under a $12.5 million grant issued to the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).
Increasing deaths along the highway, coupled with rising heavy truck traffic, have opened a need for repairs and added acceleration/deceleration lanes, shoulders, bridge structures, and stronger pavement, the New Mexico congressional delegation said.
“These funds to repair damage, add turn lanes, and enhance US Highway 285 in the Permian Basin are critical for public safety and important for the southeast New Mexico economy,” U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) said. “Given the rapidly growing use of this roadway by heavy trucks and equipment, these federal funds will help NMDOT make US 285 a safer, more reliable highway thoroughfare to the Texas border.”
The highway has seen increased traffic tied to greater oil and gas industry activities in the Permian Basin. Traffic fatalities have increased, particularly as the road crumbles.
“Every time I visit the southeastern part of my district, I’m told to travel safe,” U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM) said. That’s not a nicety–it’s a matter of life and death. We all bear the responsibility to build safer roads, especially when they’re some of the most dangerous in the country. Today, I am proud to report after the delegation’s advocacy almost $13 million in BUILD grants has been awarded for shovel-ready projects to improve Highway 285. These grants will improve the safety for travelers by allowing for additional lanes with stronger pavement to be created from the Texas-New Mexico state line to Loving. These grants are much needed and long overdue infrastructure support to a region that is helping to drive the state’s economy.”