Northeastern New Mexico is primarily a rural and low populated region, however, it is a key gateway to the States of Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado. The strategic commercial vehicle routes of the I-40 and I-25 corridors pass through this region, allowing east to connect to west and north to south. Accommodating the significant weather differences between the mountain areas and wide expansive high desert plains and its impact on the region is equally important.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) can play a major role in ensuring the continued success and viability of these corridors. The sparse communications infrastructure in the area provided a challenge in the planning and development of en effective ITS strategic plan. The New Mexico District IV ITS Strategic Plan focused on low cost rural solutions that manage traffic and incidents, create information dissemination systems and integrate with state-wide ITS and CVO plans. A complete and flexible Rural ITS Architecture that is consistent with the National ITS Architecture was developed that concentrated on low-cost solutions that would maximize the collection and dissemination of travel related information.

The second phase of this project focuses on developing the design documents for the procurement and deployment of the proposed infrastructure. These items include a traffic operations center in the District IV offices, integrating cameras and highway advisory radio (HAR) with a series of highway gate closure implementations, a variable speed limit system for Raton Pass, a HAR system for the Eagle Nest area, wireless pager activation for school crossings and a smart trailer for construction zones. The use of Low-Powered FM radio stations are being incorporated, as a replacement for the HAR stations, into the design of infrastructure in District IV as the State of New Mexico recently applied for licenses across the state.

For more information on NM District IV, please contact: