Bridge replacement to be complete early next year

TEXICO - Water takes a 50-mile trip through the Frio Draw, mostly through three Texas counties.

It takes just a few seconds for New Mexico motorists to pass over where it rises in Curry County. Or at least it will sometime early next year, when the New Mexico Department of Transportation anticipates finishing the $4 million bridge replacement it began in late January.

The Curry County bridge is one of 530 managed by NMDOT's District Two, which includes Curry, Roosevelt and eight other counties. The new bridge at Mile Post 7.64 of N.M. 108 will include a guardrail, traffic control, signing and striping.

Thursday found crews placing prestressed concrete slabs, which would eventually be topped by eight inches of concrete.

Amber Hudson, the onsite project manager, said weather permitting she anticipates the new bridge could be done by February if not earlier.

The recent heat wave meant more breaks and an emphasis on hydration, and rain is obviously the biggest issue when a project involves a draw. The site was dry as can be Thursday, but Hudson noted that half an inch of rain in the county can accumulate to become 5 feet of water at the job site.

Manon Arnett, a spokesperson for the NMDOT, said the district wants to get the job done as soon as possible, especially knowing the inconvenience the associated road closure and its miles-long detour brings.

According to the Texas State Historical Association, the draw's rise comes a few miles west of Texico along N.M. 108, and continues east and northeast through Parmer, Castro and Deaf Smith counties on its journey to Tierra Blanca Creek east of Hereford.