Regional Boards > Mountain West
Why doesn't New Mexico assign exit numbers to unnumbered interchanges?
MattHanson939:
In the past, interchanges on non-interstate highways in New Mexico didn't have exit numbers at all; and this was the case up until the early 2000s. It all changed when US 84/285 was upgraded from a divided highway to a freeway in 2002-05. It was the first non-interstate highway in the state to use exit numbers. And most new interchanges that were built after that project wrapped up followed suit, with the exception of NM 423 (Paseo del Norte) between Coors Blvd. and I-25 within Albuquerque (the intersection with Jefferson Street was upgraded to an interchange but no exit number assigned). Two new interchanges were built on NM 599 in recent years, and they were numbered. And the same happened on US 84/285 north of Pojoaque when an at-grade intersection was upgraded to an interchange as part of the stretch between Pojoaque and Española being upgraded to an expressway.
However, interchanges on US 84/285 and NM 599 that were built during the late 1990s / early 2000s still don't have exit numbers. The US 84-285/NM 599 interchange is only numbered going southbound. And in Pojoaque, the interchange with NM 502 still isn't numbered. So this brings me to my question.
Why doesn't New Mexico assign exit numbers to interchanges on its non-interstate highways that currently don't have exit numbers? They ought to do so whenever signs at these interchanges get replaced. Having seen old photos of I-25 and I-40 in Albuquerque dating back to the 60's and 70's, they initially didn't have exit numbers; but then in the '80s, they started having exit numbers as old signs were getting replaced. The Big-I still didn't have exit numbers until the interchange was rebuilt in 2000-02.
Another highway that ought to use exit numbers is the freeway section of US 70 in Las Cruces.
wanderer2575:
Are milemarkers posted? I would think that with no milemarkers, there won't be mile-based exit numbers.
kphoger:
--- Quote from: MattHanson939 on March 20, 2023, 01:25:28 PM ---Another highway that ought to use exit numbers is the freeway section of US 70 in Las Cruces.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: wanderer2575 on March 20, 2023, 02:03:35 PM ---Are milemarkers posted?
--- End quote ---
Yes. https://goo.gl/maps/hCJSTEapWRSzN5377
DJStephens:
The las Cruces "expressway" segment of US 70 is of a mish-mash of varying quality and standards. Hatched in the mid nineties, and built in the '99 to '04 timeframe, as part of Gary Johnson's and Pete Rahn's "do it on the cheap" mindset, the project removed several at grade intersections that had been the scene of grisly T bones since the sixties.
Frankly, looking back, would have spent a bit more, and applied Interstate design standards to the the stretch. Full Shoulders, No Shifting at Overpasses, and coherent deceleration and acceleration lanes at Exits. Some locations have adequate decel / accel lanes, others do not. An Auxiliary lane exists in one stretch, but not in another where there should be one. Initial Re construction did not provide for crossover incident protection, aside from "field fence". Subsesquent mods provided a double?!? cable barrier, that is fragile, and highly suseptible to damage. Why on earth didn't they just put in Double Faced CBR?!? Monotube gantries are placed "willy nilly" often way to close to the main lanes or too near a decel lane that is too short. More recently "Sylvia" message boards were erected, again, too close to the main lanes or too close to an decel / exit ramp that is too short. For heavens sake, place it far enough away to provide a ten foot shoulder!
It did not also take into account the very real probability of the area becoming a retirement "mecca" as recent development has borne out. No one saw this coming? Up to 5000 homes, are slated or are already extant in the N Sonoma Ranch Blvd area, N of the expressway. Each home, will have up to three personal vehicles and they will travel out of the area for shopping, work, or sightseeing. Most are new west coast transplants. Nightmarish traffic jams await, in the near future, in what was once a "sleepy" little town. A once little town, that now has grown to 125,000 residents, if everyone is counted, which they are not. Absolutely no foresight or planning exists here. Seems par for the course, for the entire state, and W Texas as well.
JoePCool14:
Does NMDOT have a Contact Us page? You could always try and submit a comment to see if they have an official position on it.
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