STUDY HIGHWAY 491 PROBLEMS

SM030

SENATE MEMORIAL 30

57
th legislature
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
second session
, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Shannon D. Pinto and D. Wonda Johnson

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND THE COMMERCIAL
VEHICLE ENFORCEMENT BUREAU OF THE NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE
DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO STUDY THE
VARIOUS PROBLEMS ON UNITED STATES HIGHWAY 491, FROM MAINTENANCE
TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS AND THE NEED TO IMPROVE SAFETY FOR
DRIVERS, SCHOOL CHILDREN AND OTHER PEDESTRIANS.

WHEREAS, United States highway 491 is the major north-south route through western New Mexico and the eastern Navajo
Nation; and

WHEREAS, both a scenic route for tourism and a major
commercial trucking corridor from Gallup to the Colorado
border, the highway has been used for a thousand years and was
known as "the Navajo trail" or, more recently, by its
redesignation as "the John Pinto highway"; and

WHEREAS, the route through high desert features a
strikingly beautiful landscape of mesas and canyons, with the
major junction connecting to United States highway 64 in
Shiprock; and

WHEREAS, the highway serves as a critical commerce,
tourism and daily travel route for the Navajo Nation and the
four corners region, and includes school transportation routes;
and

WHEREAS, the highway is prone to extreme weather events
such as sandstorms and blizzards, which affect visibility and
safety; and

WHEREAS, apparent dumping of sand piles along the highway
right of way, including filling in earth depressions,
interferes with drainage and results in hazardous road
conditions due to flooding on the roadway during heavy
rainstorms; and

WHEREAS, the highway received major upgrades in 2003
through 2014 with crucial safety improvements added, including
widening sections from two to four lanes, which helped lower
the high fatality rate on the road; and

WHEREAS, with greater safety also came significantly
increased commercial truck traffic on the road; and

WHEREAS, many regular travelers on United States highway
491 feel that road maintenance and enforcement of New Mexico
traffic, transportation and motor carrier laws have not always
kept pace with the increased traffic, particularly from heavy
commercial trucks traveling to and from oil and gas activities
in the area; and

WHEREAS, the department of transportation is responsible
for road maintenance on United States highway 491, and the
commercial vehicle enforcement bureau of the New Mexico state
police division of the department of public safety is
responsible for commercial motor carrier vehicle and driver
enforcement pursuant to the Motor Transportation Act, the Motor
Carrier Act, the Motor Vehicle Code, the Criminal Code and
other state and federal laws; and

WHEREAS, the Navajo Nation or McKinley or San Juan county
is responsible for maintenance of the roads that intersect
United States highway 491, and they also have trouble
maintaining certain roads as a result of commercial truck
traffic and environmental conditions;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE
OF NEW MEXICO that the department of transportation and the
commercial vehicle enforcement bureau of the New Mexico state
police division of the department of public safety, in
consultation with the Navajo Nation and McKinley and San Juan
counties, as appropriate, be requested to study United States
highway 491's road, traffic and environmental conditions and
make recommendations on how to improve safety and comfort for
all travelers, passenger cars and commercial heavy trucks; how
to improve safety through increased enforcement of the Motor
Transportation Act, the Motor Carrier Act, the Motor Vehicle
Code and the Criminal Code; and how to improve traveler safety
from environmental conditions and manmade problems; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of
transportation and the commercial vehicle enforcement bureau
provide data concerning United States highway 491, including:

A. an analysis of road conditions by mile marker,
as applicable, on United States highway 491 and the effect on
road conditions of commercial motor carrier vehicle traffic,
particularly water, sand and equipment haulers traveling to and
from the oil and gas fields;

B. daily traffic counts, including totals and
separate counts for passenger cars, school buses and commercial
motor carrier vehicles;

C. daily traffic counts at intersections with
United States highway 491, particularly in state transportation
commission district 5, and to cooperate with the Navajo Nation
or the appropriate county to collect commercial motor carrier
vehicle traffic counts from the intersection connections to
United States highway 491 and, if data are available, a report
of which feeder roads bear the most commercial traffic;

D. the number of accidents and fatalities with mile
marker locations, including pedestrian-related accidents;

E. the number and statistical details of law
enforcement stops involving speeding, careless or reckless
driving, distracted driving or other reasons for a stop;

F. results of port-of-entry and field enforcement
of truck drivers and commercial motor carrier vehicles,
including data regarding:

(1) verification of driver- and commercial
motor vehicle-required credentials;

(2) proper trip paperwork, including weight-distance and oversize-overweight permits;

(3) assessment and collection of taxes and
fees;

(4) driver and mechanical inspections; and

(5) an analysis of the effect that increased
law enforcement on commercial motor vehicles and drivers has on
traffic safety and law enforcement;

G. consideration of environmental barriers or other
means to ameliorate the driving hazards from blowing sand or
snow and water on the roadway and from drainage issues along
the highway;

H. consideration of improvements to pedestrian
safety, particularly the need for school bus stops to have
flashing safety lights warning drivers to slow down; and

I. other information that should be called to the
attention of the legislature concerning United States highway
491; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include data on the
number of commercial truck drivers needed nationally and in New
Mexico over the next ten years, the number and cost of public
and private programs in the state that train intra- and
interstate commercial drivers, the number of graduates each
year and strategies for increasing the number of qualified
commercial truck drivers in New Mexico; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of
transportation and the commercial vehicle enforcement bureau
report their findings and recommendations to the appropriate
legislative interim committees prior to November 1, 2026; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the secretaries of transportation and public
safety, the governor, the president of the Navajo Nation, the
county managers of McKinley and San Juan counties and the
director of the legislative council service.

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