big highway bypass work in carlsbad set to begin next year

Plans have now been set for the construction of a new highway bypass project that will go up in Carlsbad and is designed to lessen the amount of truck traffic currently moving on smaller roads and streets in southeast Eddy County.

The new bypass, long in the anticipation stage, will connect U.S. Highway 285 with U.S. Highway 62/180.

By so doing, the bypass will also be serving as a loop between north Carlsbad and south Carlsbad.

The project is expected to cost up to $30 million to complete and will be done in conjunction with the New Mexico Department of Transportation. Earlier estimates pegged the project at around $25 million.

Nearly $12 million of the funding for the project is coming from the state and $1 million from Carlsbad, with additional funding expected to be secured in the future.

Work on the bypass project will most likely launch sometime in the spring of 2020.

By Garry Boulard

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