Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Road improvements are coming to main arterial highways in and around Clovis.
New Mexico Department of Transportation District 2 engineer Francisco Sanchez said a $2.5 million resurfacing project will begin, possibly as early as the first week of September, on State Road 245 known in Clovis as Llano Estacado Boulevard. Work is scheduled from its junction with State Road 311 near Ranchvale eastward to the end of its state designation in the vicinity of the Clovis city limits.
“We’re resurfacing the whole road,” Sanchez said. “There’ll be a thin overlay, a thin lift of asphalt pavement.”
District 2 is the transportation department district, headquartered in Roswell, that includes Curry and Roosevelt counties.
Sanchez said there will be no expansion of lanes at this time, the road will remain a two-lane highway from SR 311 eastward to the vicinity of the Clovis city limits.
The project is being funded from legislative money allotted in a bill that passed in the state House the last legislative session.
SR 245 was chosen because Sanchez said the state transportation department did an overview of paving conditions and SR 245 met the criteria for resurfacing. Sanchez also pointed out the importance of the road particularly for service for Cannon Air Force Base
SR 245 was mentioned in Tuesday’s Curry County Commission meeting when Commissioner Chet Spear mentioned the roughness of the road saying it seemed there were patches on top of patches in the roadway.
County Manager Lance Pyle said the county is appreciative of the state transportation department and the Legislature for the funding of the SR 245 project.
“It’s highly traveled and will serve as a benefit to Cannon Air Force Base personnel and others,” Pyle said.
Sanchez said more significant road work is scheduled to be bid in October. It’s a $40 million project for US 60/84 running through Clovis from Prince Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Sanchez said the project will involve reconstruction of the road, storm drainage, all new sidewalks and upgrade in traffic signals. And that’s only phase 1.
“Hopefully we’ll be getting money for phase 2,” Sanchez said.
