El Paso/Lubbock/Wichita Falls U.S. 54 - Future Interstate? Can It Happen? (Dallas: tax, dangerous)

[case44]

In addition, 6 FOOT 3, Amarillo doesn't need these connections half as bad as Lubbock. That city lacks hard in freeway coverage and interstate connections elsewhere in Texas. What's currently under construction in Lubbock is a freeway that basically could be part of a future corridor (I-44, perhaps??), and that is in southwest Lubbock. And if it goes southwest from Lubbock, that could only mean one thing. You can connect all the dots together and wind up in El Paso. It could happen.

Also, I'm not going to be quick to suggest that Roswell or Hobbs isn't going to be part of the route. Either one of those places can, but it will depend on where the road could be built and what the final plan (if it gets that far) would look like. Between Brownfield and Alamogordo, you've got three or four possibilities. I once thought that the road could go to Las Cruces instead of El Paso. There's just one problem. U.S. 70 west of Alamogordo is usually closed when there is missile testing at White Sands. If that's the case, then an interstate between Las Cruces and Alamogordo just wouldn't be practical, although it would have provided a quick way to the west coast from the Llano Estacado. So, I decided to take it south to El Paso and even connect with Mexico, since it is a straight shot to the port of entry. An El Paso connection would just be better and travelers would have an easier connection to a large city. You have to connect cities together.

[Six Foot Three]

Originally Posted by case44

In addition, 6 FOOT 3, Amarillo doesn't need these connections half as bad as Lubbock. That city lacks hard in freeway coverage and interstate connections elsewhere in Texas. What's currently under construction in Lubbock is a freeway that basically could be part of a future corridor (I-44, perhaps??), and that is in southwest Lubbock. And if it goes southwest from Lubbock, that could only mean one thing. You can connect all the dots together and wind up in El Paso. It could happen.

Also, I'm not going to be quick to suggest that Roswell or Hobbs isn't going to be part of the route. Either one of those places can, but it will depend on where the road could be built and what the final plan (if it gets that far) would look like. Between Brownfield and Alamogordo, you've got three or four possibilities. I once thought that the road could go to Las Cruces instead of El Paso. There's just one problem. U.S. 70 west of Alamogordo is usually closed when there is missile testing at White Sands. If that's the case, then an interstate between Las Cruces and Alamogordo just wouldn't be practical, although it would have provided a quick way to the west coast from the Llano Estacado. So, I decided to take it south to El Paso and even connect with Mexico, since it is a straight shot to the port of entry. An El Paso connection would just be better and travelers would have an easier connection to a large city. You have to connect cities together.

I'm surprised the Feds have never ran I-37 to Midland/Odessa
as that would help in some of the I-40 traffic going up or down to I-20 and visa versa. As for U.S.82 it would take years to blast away at the mountains/hills going from Alamo to Cloudcroft to make it the standard width for Interstates.

As for Alamo to Las Cruces being closed for testing ...that is true but i do remember when i lived in Jacksonville on I-95 going over the Old Fuller Warren Bridge it was a Draw Bridge and everytime a ship or vessel came up to it all Interstate traffic came to a stop for 20 minutes to raise and then lower the bridge. But a couple of years ago the feds built a New high rise bridge to solve that.

Anyway interesting !!

[lipbalm]

Federal money for existing highways is tight as it is, hence all the toll road talk in Texas. I think toll roads will be the way of the future

[case44]

Originally Posted by lipbalm

Federal money for existing highways is tight as it is, hence all the toll road talk in Texas. I think toll roads will be the way of the future

That, unfortunately, is right. Unless there is a miracle or unless the feds reprioritize their ways of funding, roads may well be built that way from here on out. I don't think that all of them will remain toll roads permanently if built, but you never know. But like I've said in a number of other posts, TXDOT is out of money. How sad. The good news, from what I've heard, is that El Paso's new Spur 601 (not an interstate) will not be a toll road. Yay. It will be a freeway. Keep the change.

You know, I still like to dream when I have an atlas in front of me.

[Six Foot Three]

Originally Posted by case44

TXDOT is out of money.

Don't feel too bad as NMDOT is 500 million in the hole and climbing. At this session coming up in Feb at the legislature ....they will discuss which taxes to raise....

They said either the gas tax or the auto registration fees are going up. They said Tolls in NM is pretty much dead.

But we spent around 300 million on a train that goes about 50 miles from Rio Rancho to Belen that carries about 100 or so at a time.

I'm very much fuming at the Governor (Richardson) at that one as that was his pet project.

[case44]

Originally Posted by 6 FOOT 3

Don't feel too bad as NMDOT is 500 million in the hole and climbing. At this session coming up in Feb at the legislature ....they will discuss which taxes to raise....

They said either the gas tax or the auto registration fees are going up. They said Tolls in NM is pretty much dead.

But we spent around 300 million on a train that goes about 50 miles from Rio Rancho to Belen that carries about 100 or so at a time.

I'm very much fuming at the Governor (Richardson) at that one as that was his pet project.

Holy grits!!

[el borracho]

i take 54 all the way to state rd 3 and i come out about 8 miles west of las vegas n.m onto i-25 it would be nice if it was divided ,it saves about 110 miles and about 2hrs when i make the trip up to denver and the bonus is i avoid abq and santa fe

[atrabilius]

Originally Posted by el borracho

i take 54 all the way to state rd 3 and i come out about 8 miles west of las vegas n.m onto i-25

If we're going to make US 54 an Interstate highway, this might be a good way to do it: from El Paso up to New Mexico Route 219 at Pastura, New Mexico, southwest of Santa Rosa; then north along New Mexico 219 to I-40 west of Santa Rosa; then north along US 84 to I-25 at Romeroville, south of Las Vegas. I think this would follow part of USDOT's SPIRIT High-Priority Corridor and parallel the Camino Real High-Priority Corridor to the east, diverting some traffic that now goes through Albuquerque along I-25. I think running it around Orogrande would be a good idea (make the current US 54 a business route running through town).

Maybe we could even extend this Interstate southeastward from the south end of the Patriot Freeway near the Bridge of the Americas along the Cesar Chavez Border Highway to I-10 at Esperanza. It's supposed to be extended from the Zaragoza port of entry to the Fabens port of entry anyway; this extension would connect to the Fort Hancock port of entry as well and provide an alternative route to I-10 through El Paso in the bargain.

As for Interstate highway numbers, 23 isn't taken, although calling this highway I-23 would deviate from the numbering scheme, since it would run east of I-25 and according to the numbering scheme north-south Interstate Highways are generally numbered west to east. But 27 is taken (I-27 runs through Lubbock).

[atrabilius]

Originally Posted by 6 FOOT 3

I'm surprised the Feds have never ran I-37 to Midland/Odessa
as that would help in some of the I-40 traffic going up or down to I-20 and visa versa. As for U.S.82 it would take years to blast away at the mountains/hills going from Alamo to Cloudcroft to make it the standard width for Interstates.

I think there's been discussion about a new Interstate highway, Interstate 14, which would run from Augusta, Georgia to Natchez, Mississippi, then through Louisiana into Texas through Jasper, Huntsville and College Station to Austin. I have also heard talk of extending this proposed Interstate even further, to El Paso. I guess the route would go (more or less) from Austin through Brady, San Angelo, Big Spring, Lamesa and Seminole into New Mexico, going through Hobbs and Carlsbad, crossing back into Texas near Guadalupe Mountains National Park, then going along US 62-180 through northern Hudspeth County and crossing into El Paso County near Hueco Tanks State Park.

I don't know if we would want to turn any part of Montana Avenue into a freeway, though; I guess maybe I-14 could be routed southward from east of Montana Vista to the Fabens port of entry.

I don't know when or if this would happen, given the current political climate.

[case44]

Originally Posted by atrabilius

I think there's been discussion about a new Interstate highway, Interstate 14, which would run from Augusta, Georgia to Natchez, Mississippi, then through Louisiana into Texas through Jasper, Huntsville and College Station to Austin. I have also heard talk of extending this proposed Interstate even further, to El Paso. I guess the route would go (more or less) from Austin through Brady, San Angelo, Big Spring, Lamesa and Seminole into New Mexico, going through Hobbs and Carlsbad, crossing back into Texas near Guadalupe Mountains National Park, then going along US 62-180 through northern Hudspeth County and crossing into El Paso County near Hueco Tanks State Park.

I don't know if we would want to turn any part of Montana Avenue into a freeway, though; I guess maybe I-14 could be routed southward from east of Montana Vista to the Fabens port of entry.

I don't know when or if this would happen, given the current political climate.

If that gets built, I wouldn't be expecting it to go west of Mississippi. Probably not in my lifetime, anyway. It's going to be a meaningless interstate for the southeastern states since there no metros in the route.