U.S. Route 70 in New Mexico

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 70 in New Mexico. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 70.

U.S. Route 70
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Route information
Maintained by NMDOT
Length:	448.264 mi (721.411 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 70 at the Arizona state line
	I-10 in Lordsburg US 180 in Deming I-10 / US 180 in Las Cruces I-25 / US 85 in Las Cruces US 54 from Alamogordo to Tularosa US 82 in Alamogordo US 380 from Hondo to Roswell US 285 in Roswell US 60 / US 84 in Clovis US 60 in Texico
East end:	US 70 / US 84 at the Texas state line
Location
Counties:	Hidalgo, Grant, Luna, Doña Ana, Otero, Lincoln, Chaves, Roosevelt, Curry
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced State Roads in New Mexico US State Minor Scenic ← NM 68 NM 72 →

U.S. Route 70 (US 70) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that travels from Globe, Arizona, east to Atlantic, North Carolina. In the U.S. state of New Mexico, US 70 extends from the Arizona state line south of Virden and ends at the Texas state line in Texico.

Route description

After entering the state of New Mexico, US 70 heads southeast. Five miles (8.0 km) after crossing the state line, it serves as the southern terminus for New Mexico State Road 92 (NM 92). US 70 does not have another highway junction for 21 miles (34 km), where it meets New Mexico State Road 464 (NM 464) and New Mexico State Road 90 (NM 90) three miles (4.8 km) north of Lordsburg. At Lordsburg, US 70 joins with Interstate 10 (I-10) eastbound, splitting off in Las Cruces, and becoming Picacho Avenue in Las Cruces. When Picacho Avenue meets Main Street, US 70 follows Main Street northbound. US 70 then crosses I-25, and has been upgraded at this point to a controlled-access highway until entering the foothills of the Organ Mountains.

US 70 at the intersection of US 285 and US 380 in Roswell.

As a divided highway, US 70 then crosses the Organ Mountains via San Augustin Pass descends to the valley floor of the Tularosa Basin, and next crosses the White Sands Missile Range. Overhead missile tests can close the highway for a few hours; this generally happens once or twice a week, and typically only for an hour at a time. The road then passes the entrance to White Sands National Park, and shortly after that passes the southern end of Holloman Air Force Base. It then turns northbound, and picks up a concurrency with US 54 upon entering Alamogordo. On the north end of Alamogordo, US 54/US 70 intersects the beginning of US 82 near La Luz. The concurrency with US 54 lasts until Tularosa, and the highway remains divided until US 70 and US 54 diverge. After splitting off to the northeast, US 70 begins an ascent into the Sacramento Mountains and enters the Lincoln National Forest. The road then runs across the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation and near the resort town of Ruidoso. In Hondo, it begins another concurrency, this time with US 380. US 70 then bypasses Roswell to the northwest, together with US 285. US 70 then heads off to the northeast, running through Portales and Clovis before entering Texas at Texico.

History

When commissioned in 1926, ran from present day US 70 in Clovis, New Mexico through Vaughn, Willard all the way to Holbrook, Arizona. In 1932, US 70 was rerouted to El Paso, Texas, and the old routing was transferred to US 60 and US 260. In 1934, the routing of US 70 was changed again, to Las Cruces; the old route was transferred to US 54.

On July 12, 2021, US 70 between NASA Road and the entrance of White Sands Missile Range was closed to traffic. The night before, heavy rain from thunderstorms caused about 4 feet (1.2 m) of mud to close the 7-mile (11 km) section. The highway was reopened the next day.

Junction list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Arizona state line		0.000	0.000		US 70 west – Duncan, Safford	Continuation into Arizona
Hidalgo	​	4.200	6.759		NM 92 – Virden
	​	25.600	41.199		NM 464 – Redrock
	​	27.194	43.765		NM 90 – White Signal, Silver City
	Lordsburg	29.184 2.067	46.967 3.327		I-10 Bus. west (Historic US 80 west) to I-10 – Road Forks	Interchange; western end of I-10 Bus. concurrency; former US 80 west; mileposts change to reflect I-10 Bus.
		2.135	3.436		East Bound Trucks (NM 494 south)	Northern terminus of NM 494
		4.370	7.033		I-10 Bus. ends / I-10 – Lordsburg	Eastern end of I-10 Bus. concurrency; western end of I-10 concurrency; I-10 exit 24
See I-10
Doña Ana	​	141.435	227.618		I-10 east (US 180 east) – Las Cruces, El Paso	Eastern end of I-10 and US 180 concurrencies; I-10 exit 135
	Bridge over the Rio Grande
	Las Cruces	147.246	236.969		NM 185 / NM 188 – Radium Springs, Mesilla
		147.246	236.969		NM 478 south (Main Street) – Anthony	Northern terminus of NM 478; former US 80 east/US 85 south
		150.699– 150.706	242.527– 242.538	—	I-25 (US 85) – El Paso, Albuquerque	Partial interchange; west end of freeway; I-25 exit 6
		151.083	243.145	—	Del Rey Boulevard / Telshor Boulevard	Direct eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		151.700	244.137	—	Roadrunner Parkway	No direct eastbound entrance
		152.322	245.138	—	Rinconada Boulevard	No direct westbound entrance
		153.103	246.395	—	Sonoma Ranch Boulevard
		154.716	248.991	—	Mesa Grande Drive
		155.792	250.723	—	Porter Drive
		156.870	252.458	—	Holman Road / Dunn Drive
	​	158.493	255.070	—	Weisner Road / Balsam Road
	​	160.122	257.691	—	Brahman Road
	Organ	161.260	259.523	—	NASA Road / Baylor Canyon Road	East end of freeway
	​	169.946	273.502		Missile Range Headquarters / HTA	Interchange
Otero	Holloman AFB	206.428	332.214		Holloman AFB Main Gate	Partial interchange
	Alamogordo	210.939	339.473		Airport Road - Alamogordo-White Sands Regional Airport
		212.789– 213.108	342.451– 342.964		US 54 south /  – El Paso, Alamogordo	Interchange; western end of US 54 concurrency; White Sands Boulevard not signed westbound
		218.211	351.177		US 82 – Artesia, Lubbock	Western terminus of US 82
	​	220.528	354.905		NM 545 – La Luz
	Tularosa	228.271– 229.131	367.367– 368.751		US 54 north – Carrizozo	Eastern end of US 54 concurrency
	Mescalero	247.022	397.543		Eagle Drive – Hospital, Bureau of Indian Affairs	Interchange; serves Mescalero Indian Hospital
	​	251.486	404.727		NM 244 – Cloudcroft
Lincoln	Ruidoso Downs	261.260	420.457		NM 48 – Capitan
	Hondo	285.031	458.713		US 380 – Capitan	Western end of US 380 concurrency
See US 380
Chaves	Roswell	328.409	528.523		US 285 south (Main Street south) / US 380 east (2nd Street east) – Artesia, Brownfield	Eastern end of US 380 concurrency; western end of US 285 concurrency
		333.432	536.607		NM 246 – Capitan
		335.533– 335.794	539.988– 540.408	B	US 70 Truck west / US 285 Truck south (Relief Route) / US 285 north – Vaughn, Ruidoso	Interchange; eastern end of US 285 concurrency; exit number is for US 285; no exit number eastbound; US 70 Truck exit A
Roosevelt	Elida	397.526	639.756		NM 114 / NM 330 – Dora, Floyd
	​	415.151	668.121		NM 480
	Portales	417.161	671.356		Airport Road – Portales Municipal Airport
		421.447	678.253		NM 206 east (Avenue C) – Dora, Tatum	Western terminus of NM 206
		421.512	678.358		Error creating thumbnail: File missing NM 267 west (Avenue B) – Floyd, Melrose	Eastern terminus of NM 267
		421.731	678.710		NM 88 east (Abilene Avenue) – Arch	Western terminus of NM 88
		423.173	681.031		To NM 236 /
		423.762	681.979		NM 467 – Clovis
	​	426.431	686.274		NM 202
Curry	Clovis	439.823	707.827		US 60 / US 84 east (1st Street west) / NM 209 north (Prince Street) – Fort Sumner, Vaughn, Santa Rosa	Western end of US 60 and US 84 concurrencies
	See US 60
	Texico	448.188	721.289		US 60 east (State Street) – Hereford	Eastern end of US 60 concurrency
Texas state line		448.264	721.411		US 70 east / US 84 east – Farwell	Continuation into Farwell, Texas
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Roswell truck route

Location:	Roswell, New Mexico
Length:	7.5 mi (12.1 km)

U.S. Route 70 Truck (US 70 Truck) runs for seven and a half miles (12.1 km) around the northwest side of Roswell. For its entire length, it is multiplexed with Roswell's Relief Route (US 285 Truck).

The entire route is in Chaves County.

Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Roswell	0.00	0.00		US 285 Truck south (Relief Route south) / US 70 / US 380 (2nd Street) – Artesia, Ruidoso, Roswell	Western terminus; western terminus of US 285 Truck concurrency; road continues south as US 285 Truck (Relief Rte.)
​	5.0	8.0		NM 246 (Pine Lodge Road) – Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
​	7.1	11.4	A	US 70 west / US 285 south to US 380 junction – Clovis	Interchange; no exit number eastbound
​	7.4– 7.5	11.9– 12.1		US 285 Truck end / US 70 east (Clovis Highway) / US 285 north	Interchange; eastern terminus; eastern terminus of US 285 Truck concurrency; northern terminus of US 285 Truck
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

U.S. Route 70
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