New Mexico officials evaluating new border highway connector

A new border highway connector between State Roads 136 and 273 in New Mexico is being proposed with the goal of improving access, mobility and connectivity.

The New Mexico Border Authority, New Mexico Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration are working in cooperation on the project, which is currently in Phase B.

In Phase A, recommendations on the corridor proposal from stakeholder and the public resulted in two alternatives that are being carried into Phase B for further analysis.

Phase B also includes the following public meetings scheduled for later this week:

• 3:30 to 5 p.m. Friday, March 22 at the Sunland Park Motor Vehicle Division
• 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 23 at the farmers market at Ardovino’s Desert Crossing
• 1:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 23 at the Sunland Park Community Library

Those unable to attend these meetings can send questions or comments to BorderHighwayConnector@bhinc.com or call 505-264-0111.

Concerns previously communicated by the public involve traffic operations, safety and truck movement, as well as environmental, coordination and multimodal issues, according to the project website.

The website lists the following as purposes for the new border highway connector:

• To improve emergency response times
• To provide alternate routes under emergency or hazardous material conditions
• To reduce traffic volumes on existing corridors
• To improve the transportation network and support regional growth expectations
• To provide a more direct access route to U.S.-Mexico border crossings
• To expand transportation infrastructure and support regional economic development
• To improve access to social resources

Environmental documentation will come in Phase C, while Phase D will include a preliminary design.

Detailed procedural information as well as a project timeline are available here. LL

More Land Line news from New Mexico.