In preparation for I-27 extension, expect bypass and/or 4-lane upgrades...

[PColumbus73]

Highlighting just how dumb the I-27N concept is. What, is a suffixed route going to be twice the length of the parent route?

Since Oklahoma and Arkansas were too chicken, maybe Raton to Fort Worth can be I-50. Collect them all, DFW!

Agreed. I do see the utility of the I-27 mainline running from Laredo to I-80, preferably Cheyenne. If we're dead set on another Mexico - Canada route, even when I-69 isn't even completed, a shortcut between Billings and Great Falls, MT would do the trick for an I-27.

All these pointless suffix routes are just local politicians who think their district will be the next Metroplex. They should just let TDOT pick a route, same with I-14 and I-69. None of these spurs are going to generate traffic / economic development unless they make sense for people to use. What's the point in taking I-14 if it's going to zigzag to every county seat between I-10 and Louisiana?

And just because an Interstate doesn't pass through a district, or city, it doesn't mean they're left out in the cold. Myrtle Beach has been pining for I-73 for decades, but they still indirectly benefit from I-95. But also, Myrtle Beach is somewhere people 'want' to go.

[kphoger]

Does someone in Texas really hate roadgeeks or something?

They see them

bullshit

[Bobby5280]

Yeah, no.  Have you been to Boise City?  I was just there earlier this year and the locals there feel quite forgotten and ignored from my conversations with them.  The capitol doesn't care about the panhandle.

I've driven through Boise City a few times. That's a small town in a pretty desolate area. I totally get why residents in that town feel forgotten. Unless some sort of big change happens to seed growth there that town will continue to wither and die out.

Still, Boise City is along the Ports to Plains Corridor. I'm skeptical US-287 would ever be upgraded to Interstate standards through there. However, ODOT has four-laned quite a few roads across the state. My biggest complaint about US-287 in that area is the complaint I keep repeating. The segment around the OK/CO border is dangerous. ODOT needs to fix it before too many more people get killed out there in collisions.

One thing that is so bad about that area is the terrain appears wide open. There are hardly any trees. But the road curves and ebbs up and down enough that's it's difficult to see oncoming traffic. A motorist stuck behind some slow poke will be risking his life trying to pass.

It's the same problem that used to exist on US-64/87 between Clayton, NM and Mount Dora. I really hated that road when it was a 2-lane highway. Back then I'd make road trips from Oklahoma to Colorado at night. There was less traffic and it was possible to see glow from oncoming headlights. During bright daylight oncoming traffic would be hidden by the undulating terrain. Some old RV going slow would end up with a "train" worth of traffic stuck behind it because hardly anyone could safely pass. It was a giant relief when NM DOT finally 4-laned the highway. The end result sucks in a number of respects. But it's still a lot safer than a 2-lane road.

[Rothman]

The capitol doesn't care about the panhandle.

If you were a politician, would you care about a few thousand people, 92% of which uniformly vote for the same party no matter what you do?

Right.  Just furthers my point.

[TheBox]

Can somebody go check if there is truly nothing going on TX-349 loop around Midland?

[Rothman]

Can somebody go check if there is truly nothing going on TX-349 loop around Midland?

Should have mentioned this earlier.  I was just down there and drove it between TX 158 and Holiday Hill Road.  I don't remember anything going on during that stretch.

Could always give the TXDOT regional office a call...

[splashflash]

TxDot made US 54 4 lanes divided north of Stafford a few years ago.  I was surprised they didn't do US 287 as well.  The traffic counts are higher on US 54 though and Kansas is widening around Liberal.

US-54 going NE of Stratford doesn't become a 4-lane divided road until it crosses the state line into Oklahoma.

Yes, you are correct.  ODOT is ahead of TxDoT on US 54 northeast of Stratford.  TxDoT hasn't built anything in of Stratford yet.

[rte66man]

My biggest complaint about US-287 in that area is the complaint I keep repeating. The segment around the OK/CO border is dangerous. ODOT needs to fix it before too many more people get killed out there in collisions.

According to the latest 8-Year plan, they budgeted funds for utilities and ROW for FFY27 and grade drain, and surface for FFY29

[monty]

Drove US 87 from Hartley to Dumas today. Construction is under way building a divided highway in that segment. The west end seems to show the most progress with the grading of the new westbound carriageway.

[Bobby5280]

It's about damned time they got moving with that project!

To provide a little perspective, the segment of US-87 between Hartley and Dalhart was upgraded to 4-lane divided configuration more than 20 years ago. The rest of the 4-laning work between Dalhart and Raton was completed in the late 2000's going into the early 2010's. The 4-lane project for Dumas to Hartley is about 15 years overdue, IMHO.

[splashflash]

Raton officials to study Interstate 27 extension into NM with $2.6M in federal funds
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Joe Kiely, vice president of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance, told Source NM on Thursday that the funding will give the public a chance to weigh in on the best route for the new interstate when it reaches cities like Capulin and Raton.

"For example, how would it go through Des Moines, New Mexico? Run right through downtown? I don't think so," he said. "It gives the public the opportunity to come in and be able to talk about how they would like to see [the interstate] come through their community."

U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján, both New Mexico Democrats, secured $1.6 million for the city of Raton to conduct a study about an interchange between the new I-27 and I-25 and for the towns of Capulin and Des Moines to conduct studies. U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) secured an additional $1 million for Raton to do its own study.



https://www.aol.com/articles/raton-officials-study-interstate-27-232957191.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJ3toLsxTJL4xaB0vulZukKlvt0JgGuTwxGWCO0E_eY6TzuHYd6P52UfNQvIVq3npGAB-3oIBwY-8s7Ug36paHfC64hAxrViEDcdMRmMs4TBiBJrLJgMafsgAdlxeWthXclxJQI66Eq2-WORA-u4eOhP9Viwid0SOQY6czM8blAv

[Bobby5280]

It's interesting that officials in New Mexico are even talking at all about I-27. Still, I think a $2.6 million study may only end up being mere lip service paid to the idea.

Building a new interstate from Texline to Raton is definitely do-able. But the planners need a good strategy. Obviously such a project would have to be built in various phases. I think the most cost effective approach is building whatever is needed in/around the towns along the way and then filling in the gaps between the towns later.

Joe Kiely (Ports to Plains Alliance VP) asked how I-27 would be handled in the small town of Des Moines, NM. At first glance, yeah, you probably wouldn't want to plow the Interstate thru town on the existing US-64/87 alignment. A new terrain bypass going around the North and Northeast sides of town, on the other side of the BNSF rail line, seems like the only sensible choice. But what if a new terrain bypass starved the local businesses still in business of any income? Des Moines is a town that looks like it has been withering for quite some time. There are fewer than 20 properties along the right side of the highway between the railroad tracks. It might be less expensive to purchase and relocate those properties in order to build the new highway thru town rather than build it well outside of town. A new Interstate thru town might be more beneficial for business.

Each town along the way poses its own unique situation for accommodating a new Interstate. Like Des Moines, it might be beneficial for the tiny town of Capulin to build a new Interstate thru town rather than around it. Clayton would need a new terrain bypass; there's no question about that.

It would be nice if US-64/87 had a better outlet off I-25 than the one which exists now. The current one is a mess. They could build a new "Y" interchange over the existing intersection with Clayton Road. It might mean taking out the gas stations and other junk on the NE and SE corners of the current I-25 exit. But it looks like a more work-able alternative than trying to squeeze a new Y interchange between I-25 exits 451 and 450. Freeway exits have to be spaced far enough apart to reduce traffic weaving conflicts.