New Mexico Department of Transportation’s Jarales Road–Railroad Grade Separation project eliminated long detours and delays caused by trains blocking the crossing for the Jarales community, significantly improving access for residents, farmers, school buses, businesses, and emergency responders. Before this initiative, residents reported waiting up 30 minutes for a single train to clear and taking up to 45 minutes to detour around the crossing.   With this $35.6 million project, the agency said there will never again be a situation where a train crossing the tracks would prevent an emergency vehicle from saving a life.

Over the past 40 years, five grade crossing collisions between trains and vehicles have occurred at this crossing, resulting in injuries. The new grade separation overpass eliminates the potential of a train-vehicle collision, which eliminates the possibility of injuries and fatalities. The project also supports the regional and national economy by allowing for expansion of the Belen rail yard to meet increasing freight traffic demands. Created through multi-agency collaboration, the project resolves a long-standing safety and mobility issue that affected the community for more than a decade.