The mystery of blasted butte (Gallup, Las Vegas: cost of, to move, distance)

[Zoidberg]

On the journey between Las Vegas and Raton on I-25, there's a characteristic formation you drive between; I don't know if it has a name so I call it blasted butte.

See for yourself; you may recognize it.

Looking at the terrain view, it seemed like the road crew could have easily gone around it to the west without any added road distance.

Anyone got any ideas why they went to all this trouble?

[NMHacker]

Because it's fun to blow stuff up?

[mortimer]

Originally Posted by Zoidberg

Anyone got any ideas why they went to all this trouble?

Dynamite is fun?

Maybe the cost of supporting the road to the West of BB is more than blasting through.
Blowing stuff up out there must not be particularly expensive, but you still have to move
rock and stuff to make a road to the west of that feature.

It also might have served as a good source of fill to elevate the highway for a distance
North and South of there. That stuff has to come from somewhere.

It could still just boil down to dynamite is fun.
.................................................. ........... Wouldn't you like to have been there?

There's one of those just E of Gallup too.

[Zoidberg]

Originally Posted by mortimer

There's one of those just E of Gallup too.

In that case though there isn't anyplace flat to go through that didn't already have a whole lot of development.

Still, that one in Gallup sure must've taken forever.

[aries63]

Might there have been a natural gap there that just needed widening? It looks like old Rt. 85 found another gap to the west.

[mortimer]

Originally Posted by Zoidberg

In that case though there isn't anyplace flat to go through that didn't already have a whole lot of development.

You mean just South of where they blasted that out?

That isn't "a whole lot of development" by my definition, but you might have another viewpoint.

[aries63]

From Roadside geology of New Mexico, p. 166:

"Near mileposts 436 and 435 [of I-25] the highway slices through two prominent dikes. The hard igneous rock of these dikes resists erosion, and they jut up to sharp ridges. On either side, well exposed in the highway cuts, the Pierre shale is baked and hardened by the heat of molten rock that formed the dikes."

So presumably this formation was in two parts to begin with, and not a tall, level barrier that had to be blown away.