Road closure concerns landowners

Steve Reeves owns the only house on a stretch of Curry Road R the county is considering closing at the request of Cannon Air Force Base officials.

Reeves believes the county should buy his property and the property of other impacted landowners before closing the road or leave the road as it is.

At a July 24 Curry County Commission meeting, commissioner Caleb Chandler proposed closing Curry Road R south of U.S. 60-84 to Curry Road 7, a distance of three miles, to increase base security and public safety.

The Air Force has asked the county to close the road, citing security concerns at the base. "Even if they close it up to my house (about a half of a mile south of 60-84), I'll be trapped every time they stop a train and there will be no way around it," Reeves said Tuesday during a meeting on location of about 15 to 20 landowners, BNSF Railway and Curry County Road Department representatives and a county viewing committee.

The viewing committee was tasked by the commission to view the stretch of Curry Road R proposed for closure, listen to comments of landowners, and prepare a report to be presented at a Curry County Commission meeting next Tuesday where the final decision will be made.

"This is an issue for our family," Reeves said. "If there's an emergency like fire or a snakebite, I can't get in, I can't get out. We can't get anyone else in. Every time they stop a train we're going to be late for school, late for work."

Reeves said the landowners would have to find alternate daily routes to U.S. 60-84.

"Before (the commission) even brought up the road closure they should have had a meeting with all the landowners in the area. That way everyone would know what's going on," Reeves said.

Albin Smith owns Arrowhead Dairy, which extends from the corner of Curry Roads R and 6 to N.M. 467.

Smith said the closure will prevent access to his farm just north of U.S. 60-84.

"We're not against security for the air force base, but I don't know that closing this road really adds to security," Smith said.

Smith believes extra security for Cannon can be accomplished by other means. He said an alternative option to permanently closing Curry Road R could be to close the road during times of low-flying aircraft.

"It could be for a half an hour to an hour" Smith said.

Quentin Ray, attorney for Reeves and land owner Fred Moore, said closing the road could devalue his clients' property and plans to fight any proposal to close the road.