Motorists may breath a sigh of relief: The yearlong construction project along U.S. 64 through Palo Flechado Pass near Angel Fire is complete. Delays associated with the road widening and safety improvement project at times added over an hour to what is typically a 40-minute drive from Taos to Angel Fire.
The project widened each lane to 12 feet, installed new Gabion basket retaining walls along the steep sides of the road cut, and added 4-foot-wide shoulders and new guardrails between mile markers 272–274, a particularly treacherous stretch of the highway.
An analysis by the New Mexico Department of Transportation determined there were a high number of crashes between mile marker 271–287, mostly due to motorist encounters with wildlife, "fixed objects" and other vehicles.
The project, which began in the spring and cost $1.1 million, according to the New Mexico Department of Transportation, was completed on schedule.
(1) comment
Poor reporting.
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