By Lynn Janes

The New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) held a public meeting in Hurley on October 30, 2024, to provide information to the residents on the highway project starting to widen the road from Bayard to the railroad track in Hurley.

Aaron Chavarria, district engineer NMDOT, said they would be answering any questions the public might have. He introduced the team that would be working on the project. He also introduced Chris Catlin, the project manager for Mountain States Constructors, the firm doing the construction of the new highway.

Jose Martinez, NMDOT project manager, provided a short description of the project. The project involves the reconstruction of two lanes and the addition of two lanes that will take approximately eighteen months to complete. The railroad will also be redoing part of their tracks for the project. The project will also involve some pipe and culvert extensions. Some curb, gutter and sidewalk work will be done around the beginning at Bayard.

The bridge that's at Lime Quarry Road will be removed and not replaced. The road will just tie into both sides of highway 180.

The new four-lane road will be from just at the edge of Bayard to mile marker 128.4, just past the railroad tracks. Martinez asked the public to be patient because they would have delays. He said it would be a good project, and that Mountain States has been one of the best contractors in the state. "It think in the end you will all be happy."

Catlin thanked Martinez and went over the scope of the project. They would be constructing a temporary detour road around the railroad. This will allow the railroad to do the construction they need to and still allow for traffic to flow through. The temporary road will take about 30 days to complete.

While that is going, they will start the mainline work on US-180 on the west side. It will require a lot of earthwork. They will building two new lanes to the west. While doing the new lanes they will restripe the old lanes for the construction to be used for traffic. After the two new lanes have been completed, they will move traffic to them and rehab the old lanes.

Once all four lanes have been completed, they will restripe everything to the new configuration to accommodate the change made from the removal of the bridge at the Lime Quarry Road. It will be a sizable intersection.

The third phase of the project will be work in the median. They will be doing color paved medians. They will also be reconstructing a segment of Carrasco Avenue where it meets with highway 180.

Throughout the area they will be doing drainage improvements. It will include extension of drains, building new rundown flumes and some erosion control measures.

November 11, 2024, they will begin building the small detour around the railroad crossing. The project has been set to end April 7, 2026. Catlin said Mountain States Constructors would be doing whatever they could to shorten that time. "The longer we are there the more of a headache it is for you guys." Shortening the time will also save on the cost. He hoped they had a great project and minimal impact on the traffic. Most of the time it will be one lane of traffic each way. He didn't foresee a lot of stopping of traffic. The project would require some rock excavation in the first phase on the west side. It will cause some stopping of traffic for brief periods.

The construction will be Monday through Friday 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. They may not always work to the 6:00 pm. Summers they will work longer, and, in the winter, they will have shorter times. Catlin said they don't work much past dusk because it is a safety concern for them and the public.

A person in attendance asked about additional lighting. The intersections would be the only place lighting would be put in.

A person in attendance asked if they would have a speed limit change. It will be changed to 35 mph during construction.

The bridge demolition will probably happen at night. That will be the only night work that goes on. Those plans have not been decided on. Bridge demolition will be done with two large excavators and breakers that come out and break the concrete deck off and then use a crane to pick up the girders and haul them out of the way. At that point they will have two concrete piers, they will come back with the breakers and then break those down below ground level.

They have also discussed detouring the traffic on to North Hurley Road and Diaz Avenue while taking the bridge out. It would make it safer and quicker. They will not be addressing this until early next year.

Richard Maynes expressed concern over not replacing the bridge. He said a lot of big trucks use that and it could be a safety concern. Chavarria said they had done a study, and it has not been used that much and they would have turn out lanes. It had been found to not be cost effective for the amount of usage. Pete Ordonez, Hurley councilor, had concerns also. NMDOT had the plans to show that had adequate turn out lanes. B.A. Smith-Cummins, Hurley resident, also expressed concerns over the turn out lanes and it not being adequate. They showed them the plans and safety concerns taken into consideration. She also had concerns over the safety of the construction workers. They needed to have some police patroling to slow people down. Hurley does not have a police force so New Mexico State Police and Grant County Sheriff's Department will be contacted for help.

Any announcements will be put on the radio and in the newspapers. Below is a document with contacts for the project.