NM Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, surrounded by county and municipal elected officials and Lt. Gov. Howie Morales, pours the "groundbreaking" dirt for the U.S. Highway 180 expansion

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Lt. Gov. Howie Morales came to Grant County for a couple of events on July 19, 2022. The first at 8 a.m. at the Gateway in Hurley was to talk about the planned expansion of Highway 180 to a four-lane road from Bayard to Deming.

The project was once promised by Gov. Bill Richardson, but it never came to fruition.

Morales said the event was "an opportunity to celebrate. The funding was allocated under Gov. Richardson in 2007, through the then county legislators, Sen. Ben Altamirano, and Rep. Manuel 'Manny' Herrera and Rep. Dianne Hamilton. Rep. Rodolpho 'Rudy' Martinez continued to advocate for the four lanes. In 2019, a shift took place when Gov. Lujan Grisham took office. She made a commitment to fulfill the promise that had been made. Department of Transportation District 1 Engineer Trent Doolittle continued to work toward the project. DOT Deputy Secretary Justin Reese, who is from Grant County, also continued to advocate. Gov. Lujan Grisham and I have been traveling around the state to advocate for important decisions like this one. I am so proud she has continued to advocate for rural communities."

Lujan Grisham said: "With Howie as my Lt. Gov., I can't not get things done in this area. Why it was not completed decades ago to save the lives of more than 100 people is because it takes decades to build up enough money. Our current president is getting infrastructure done across the country, and right now we have $25 million for Highway 180. The New Mexico economy right now is the fourth best in the country [she alleged]. But we need to come up with the rest of the $143 million to complete this project. We're just going to damn well get it done. I've counted more than 10 heavy commercial vehicles passing by while we've been here. The road is also critical for students going to school, residents going to work. It's a public safety issue. Next is broadband. Money is being spent for education, and broadband is needed for that and for industry and health care. New Mexico is best. When Colorado, Arizona and Texas say they want to join us, we know we're doing the best [she said]. Tony Trujillo reminded me yesterday that we have to have mining. You have an administration that has your back. More is coming. Thank you for not giving up."

Howie introduced Lt. David Neil on New Mexico State Police. "He is stationed in Silver City. He drove in from Gila this morning."

Neil said he did some historical research. "U.S. 180 was first paved in 1943 from California to Mesquite, Texas. This portion was and is just two lanes. It was bordered by a rugged and sloping shoulder. People had trouble pulling off the road. And there were and are very few dedicated left lanes. With this expansion, it will benefit the commercial motor vehicles, regular vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians. The expansion will create better safety for everyone. I've lived all over the world, and I've seen accidents all over the world. The stress levels rise with drivers on two-lane roads. When I worked in Farmington, they expanded the two-lane road to four lanes. We saw a reduction in accidents. I know this expansion will be a benefit to all of you."

Lujan Grisham surrounded by elected officials from the county and its municipalities poured a bucket of dirt on the ground for the "groundbreaking."