WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation has signed an agreement with the Navajo Nation's Division of Transportation to provide $31 million to improve and upgrade one of New Mexico's most dangerous highways.
The funding, which is provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be used to expand the width of U.S. 491 over a corridor length of approximately 69 miles, constructing two new lanes adjacent to the two existing lanes. Additional safety improvements include constructing turn lanes for acceleration and deceleration in commercial and high-traffic areas, and improving intersections, signage, markings and drainage facilities.
"This funding is important to improving safety along U.S. 491 and will providing much- needed jobs in the area," Bingaman said.
"With this funding, we will help make one of the state's most dangerous highways safer for the thousands of New Mexicans who travel this important corridor every day," Udall said. "This is exactly what the Recovery Act was meant to do - create jobs, improve infrastructure, increase safety, and help grow our economy."
U.S. 491 is the primary north-south highway in the rural northwest part of the state. It is a major trucking route, with increasingly high traffic volumes, that connects the Navajo Nation to emergency, medical, education and other vital services in New Mexico, Colorado and the Four Corners area. According to New Mexico Department of Transportation data, the fatality rate at the north portion of the corridor is about 3.6 times the state average and, at the south portion, about 2.2 times the state's average rate.
