U.S. 550 (formerly N.M. 44) has gone from being one of the deadliest highways in New Mexico to one of the safest. All it took was 100-some miles of orange barrels, creeping speed limits and construction patrols.

The 109-mile stretch of U.S. 550 between San Ysidro and Bloomfield that is under construction marked a milestone in November: There was not a single traffic accident. The achievement is being lauded by the New Mexico Highway and Transportation Department as a welcome turnaround driven by speed patrols and speed zones.

"It once had the reputation as being the most dangerous highway," department spokesman Kathie Leyendecker said. "That people are slowing down and obeying the speed limits and driving safely along that road is a real accomplishment. It’s a great thing."

The highway — from San Ysidro to Bloomfield — has been under construction since October 1998. The objective is to widen the road from two lanes to four lanes and take out some dangerous curves and dips.

Instead of dividing the job into stages and reconstructing over a couple of decades, the state hired a super contractor who divided the road into zones, hired four different contractors and tackled the entire 118-mile stretch at once.

The result has been one long construction zone with concrete barriers, orange barrels and cones, torn up pavement, flashing signs and speed zones with limits as low as 25 mph. It has meant frequent delays but slower speeds and lighter traffic — a recipe for a safer road.

Nine miles of the roadway south of Cuba have been completed. The rest is scheduled to be done by Nov. 1.

An average of six accidents were reported each month along the construction zone in 1999, the first full year since work began, according to the highway department’s Crash Data Section. November has always been a particularly dangerous month along the highway, according to H. Allen Fenner, director of the department’s transportation programs. There were 10 accidents there last November.

An accident-free November jumped out at highway contractors when they looked at recent safety stats, project spokeswoman Tisha Jones said.

"We’re very proud of our safety program," Jones said. Safety measures involve lowering speed limits (as low as 25 mph along one mile-long piece), involving law enforcement in patrolling the zones for speeders and drilling road workers on how to safely pull in and out of the roadway, Jones said. Statistics were not available for December.

The project has also logged some impressive worker safety statistics. The project’s rate of lost time due to injury and illness is one-third the national average for highway construction projects, according to the highway department. Work-related deaths and injuries have been one-half the national average.

The highway is being widened to spur economic development in the Four Corners and to improve safety on a highly traveled route known for fatalities and drunken-driving arrests.

There were 60 fatalities along the highway between 1989 and 1993. Twelve fatalities occurred in five accidents in 1994 in the 50-mile stretch between Cuba and Nageezi alone.

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