New Mexico State Road 81 (NM 81) is a 45.8-mile-long (73.7 km) state road in southwestern New Mexico. The route runs from the Mexico–U.S. border in Antelope Wells north to NM 9 in Hachita, passing through desert and semi-arid farmland. NM 81 is maintained by the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT).
 State Road 81 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 NM 81 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NMDOT | ||||
| Length | 45.800 mi[1] (73.708 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  To Fed. 2 at Mexico–U.S. border | |||
| North end |  NM 9 in Hachita | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New Mexico | |||
| Counties | Hidalgo, Grant | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
editNM 81 begins at the Mexico – U.S. border crossing in Antelope Wells, Hidalgo County; a local road links the crossing with Mexico Federal Highway 2 to the south. The border crossing in Antelope Wells is the least-trafficked crossing between Mexico and the U.S., and the only residents of Antelope Wells are U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees.[2] North of Antelope Wells, the road passes through desert terrain, with a mountain range to the west. The road does not pass any communities or service stations between Antelope Wells and Hachita, and it has been described as "quiet" and "isolated"; according to NMDOT, 129 vehicles travel the road per day.[2][3] Continuing north, the road enters a semi-arid farming region and passes another mountain range in the east. The road makes a turn to the north-northeast and crosses into Grant County before terminating at NM 9 in Hachita.[1][4]
Major intersections
edit| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hidalgo | Antelope Wells | 0.000 | 0.000 | Local road To Fed. 2 | Southern terminus; Mexico–U.S. border crossing |
| Grant | Hachita | 45.800 | 73.708 | NM 9 | Northern terminus |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
See also
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References
edit- ^ a b c "Posted Route–Legal Description" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. June 8, 2016. p. 31. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
- ^ a b Innes, Stephanie (September 20, 2006). "Quiet N.M. road leads to least-used legal crossing". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
- ^ "TIMS Road Segments By Posted Route/Point With AADT Info" (PDF). New Mexico Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
- ^ "Overview Map of State Road 81" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
External links
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Geographic data related to New Mexico State Road 81 at OpenStreetMap