Public Meeting held for proposed improvements to highway 180, 90 and Juniper Street

By Lynn Janes

The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) held a public meeting at the Grant County Verterans Memorial Business and Conference Center February 19, 2026, to provide information on the proposed changes to highway 180, highway 90 and Juniper Street. Several people from NMDOT had attended to answer questions. 

They have been in the process of taking multiple studies and a roadway safety audit in the community for the whole highway 180 corridor. Andreas Linnan, technical support engineer, said they had used information from 2015 to 2023 to understand the safety concerns and potential improvements. The corridor has a lot of issues, and one intersection would not fix it all. They do want to make sure the improvements they make will harmonize and synchronize with future projects. 

Part of these projects have already started with the lighting in Arenas Valley. Many people of the community had attended this meeting to voice their concerns. At this time what NMDOT provided as a concept would only be 30 percent finished and would be conceptual. The project will be paid with federal funds, and the construction would start the beginning of next year. 

The NMDOT said the area has been a high crash  corridor with limited pedestrian and bicyclist access. The presentation included pictures of the area with traffic flows showing the amount of traffic funneled through the area. This project would also update aging infrastructure. 

The majority of the people attending did not want to see Juniper Street access cut off causing residents to have to use other means to access their neighborhood. It would leave them with having to make left hand turns at Yucca Street, Cactus Street and Swan Street, which  they all insisted would be dangerous. The residents on the other streets didn’t want the added traffic it would cause. A few people in attendance could see the benefit of the improvements but most had not been happy. One resident kept commenting that the changes would have unintended consequences. 

Currently the area to turn left onto Yucca Street and other streets in the area has not been wide enough to be safe to use. NMDOT said they would be widening that area to make it safer, but the intention would be to push everyone to using Swan Street with a signal and dedicated left turn signal. A resident asked if they would have to widen highway 180 to accomplish that and Linnan said it would be wide enough and currently had not been stripped correctly. 

A number of the residents were concerned about bike lanes, and they will be adding bike lanes but would have an alternative route for bikes to pass through the intersection safely. 

One of the residents addressed the safety concerns on Swan Street with the added traffic and NMDOT said they had. Linnan wanted to remind the people in attendance that they have only done a 30 percent design and this would be conceptual. He added, “Whether we are at 30 percent or 100 percent this is going to take place.” The project would take less than a year. 

Most attendees continued to conflict with the closing of Juniper Street, forcing them to access their neighborhoods by other routes and the residents living in the other routes didn’t want the added traffic. All said it would just cause new safety concerns. The residents invited the people working on the project to come into the neighborhoods around 4:00 pm and see the traffic problems they already have and how this will add to the problem. Many spoke to close call accidents they had already experienced trying to make those turns.

A resident asked about doing a traffic circle and if it had been looked at.  Linnan said it would not work for the area. They require a lot of space and additional right away acquisitions . It would also take a very long time to design and the funding they have will expire long before they could do the design. One of the residents felt like it would be better to wait and do it right. Another one asked about a project that had been talked about years ago to put in a truck bypass road. NMDOT didn’t have any knowledge of that.

One of the residents said, “We don’t have a traffic problem we have a driver problem.” If people would slow down and drive correctly these things would not be an issue. 

Residents expressed concerns for first responders with this change. Milo Lambert, fire chief, said they had tested it, and it would only add 60 seconds on to their response. They will be using the road by Pizza Hut to access the neighborhood when they didn’t have access through Juniper Street. They had met with the chief of police, and he had said it would not affect them in any drastic fashion. The NMDOT had also met with the school bus companies to see how it would affect their routes. 

To slow down the traffic in the proposed residential areas that would be used for the rerouting they spoke to speed bumps and cameras. 

Some residents did feel this would be a needed change but more of them had many concerns and disagreement to the project. Some agreed change in the intersection would be good but maybe not the plan put forward. Many in attendance had bicycle safety and access as a priority. 

Some expressed not understanding the process of this project because many have felt left out of the process. This had been the first time the public has been notified, and it had been in the study for some time. Someone earlier said they just need to learn to adapt but it will be a matter of understanding what they must adapt to. 

[Editor's Note: An earlier session on these proposals had taken place at WNMU Global Resource Center, although changes were made since.}

NMDOT will be working on this highway 180 corridor for the next three years. They addressed the many concerns over bike routes. They will be providing an alternative bike route. In part for safety and the need for increased right of way to widen the highway. 

Residents continued to express their concern for the added traffic in their neighborhoods with the change, and they already have a problem with the numbers and speed people drive not to mention the ignoring of four way stop signs. 

A resident expressed a similar thought to one made earlier. Roads do not cause accidents. Animals do not cause accidents. Vehicles do not cause accidents. Drivers cause accidents.

Some of the residents said Yucca Street, Cactus Street and Swan Street would turn into raceways. The added traffic in those areas would cause more safety issues. 

The representatives from the NMDOT said they would be glad to answer any questions individually,  ending the meeting.