Second U.S. 70 median project requires concrete barriers

By James Staley

jstaley@lcsun-news.com @auguststaley on Twitter

LAS CRUCES >> They look a little different, but more safety measures are on their way to U.S. 70.

Last week, New Mexico Department of Transportation officials and a local construction crew began work on the $1.9 million, four-month job to install concrete barriers on a stretch of the highway near Interstate 25.

It's the second major project since February 2013 aimed at preventing traffic from crossing over the heavily-traveled roadway, one that cuts through northeast Las Cruces and is infamous, to many residents, for horrific crashes.

In 2012, four people died in two separate crossover crashes on U.S. 70.

Months after the second fatal crash, the NMDOT began a $2.5 million project one planned before the wreck installing cable barriers along a 10-mile stretch of the highway.

Robin Zielinski Sun-News Smith and Aguirre Construction operator Jose Solis, left, and mechanic Sabino Garcia work together in the median of U.S. 70 near Roadrunner Parkway during a New Mexico Department of Transportation project to install concrete barriers. The barriers will be placed along U.S. 70 from the Interstate 25/U.S. 70 interchange to the Rinconada exit.

This time, for a segment of U.S. 70 closer to town, officials have determined that traditional concrete barriers are appropriate.

That decision was based on the characteristics of the road in the roughly two-mile stretch between the I-25 interchange and the Rinconada exit, NMDOT spokeswoman Bridget Spedalieri said.

Read this article:
Second U.S. 70 median project requires concrete barriers