Throwback Thursday; Elphant Butte Lake and New Mexico State Route 195

Back in 2012 I visited an old alignment of US Route 85 and Elephant Butte Lake on the Rio Grande River.

Elephant Butte Lake is the largest Reservoir in New Mexico with a maximum surface area of over 36,000 acres. Elephant Butte Dam was constructed from 1911 to 1916 and was at the time the largest dam built for the sole purpose of irrigation water impounding.

When US Route 85 was first signed it was routed through what is now the City of Elephant Butte on New Mexico State Route 195. US 85 would have ran briefly along the west bank of Elephant Butte Lake to modern NM 179 where it continued to Hot Springs (Modern Truth or Consequences) on modern NM 51. According to Steve Riner's New Mexico Highway site US 85 was routed on the current alignment of NM 195, NM 179 and NM 51 until the 1940s when it was shifted to the modern alignment of NM 181.

steve.riner.com on NM Highways 176-200

steve-riner.com on NM Highways 51-75

The shift in US 85 can be seen by comparing these New Mexico State Highway Maps from 1927 to 1956.

1927 Arizona and New Mexico State Highway Maps

1956 State Highway Map

Interestingly NM 195 used to carry traffic over a one-way routing Elephant Butte Dam until the early 2000s. More information can be found regarding the topic above on Steve Riner's page for NM Routes 176-200. Given the route over the dam was closed I obviously didn't a chance to cross it in a car. Suffice to say finding information regarding state highways in New Mexico was difficult back in 2011-2012 when I was working in the state. Oddly a large number of New Mexico State Highways don't even have a Wikipedia article to this day.

Comments

Yes, the color of your nearby fire hydrant matters...

...and here's why. You will find White, Red, Yellow and Violet colored fire hydrants pretty much everywhere. But there's a reason for this - and it's because of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This association has issued guidelines for color coding standards for fire hydrants. These color codes from the body of the hydrant, top of the hydrant, and in some municipalities the outlet caps are designed to allow fire fighters to know what type of system, water flow rate (Gallons Per Minute or GPM), and level of water pressure. This guideline is known as NFPA 291 and is intended to be used universally throughout the United States. The NFPA guidelines are specific to the body and the top cap of the hydrant. If a hydrant is WHITE or YELLOW - it means that it is connected to a public/municipal water system. If a hydrant is RED - the hydrant is connected to a private system, typically a well. These are most common in rural or unincorporated areas

Legend of the Ridge Route; a history of crossing the mountains between the Los Angeles Basin and San Joaquin Valley from wagon trails to Interstates

Over the past two decades I've crossed the Interstate 5 corridor from Los Angeles north over the Sierra Pelona Mountains and Tehachapi Range to San Joaquin Valley what seems to be an immeasurable number of times. While Interstate 5 from Castaic Junction to Grapevine via Tejon Pass today is known to most as "The Grapevine" it occupies a corridor which has been traversed by numerous historic highways. The most notable of these highways is known as the "Ridge Route." This article is dedicated to the Ridge Route and the various highways that preceded it. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page. For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Ridge Route corridor introdution The Ridge Route as originally envisioned was a segment of highway which was completed in 1915 between the northern Los Angeles city limit

Establishing the numbering conventions of California's chargeable Interstates

The Federal Highway Aid Act of 1956 brought the Interstate Highway System into existence which would largely be constructed by Federal Highway Administration fund matching. The Interstate Highway System was deliberately numbered to run opposite the established conventions of the US Route System. While the Interstate Highway numbering conventions are now well established there was a period during the late 1950s where they were still being finalized. This blog examines the history of the establishing of the chargeable Interstate Highway route numbers in California. The above blog cover depicts the Interstate Highway route numbers requested by the Division of Highways in the Los Angeles area during November 1957. The establishment of the numbering conventions of California's chargeable Interstates The Interstate Highway System was not created in a vacuum by way of the passage of the 1956 Federal Highway Aid Act. The beginning of the Interstate Highway System can be found in the

Gribblenation

Search This Blog