Jeff Bingaman: “New Mexico is not alone in needing to upgrade two-lane roads on the National Highway System. Just last month my good…”

“New Mexico is not alone in needing to upgrade two-lane roads on the National Highway System. Just last month my good friend Senator Reid of Nevada, chaired a hearing of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works Committee on the topic of western transportation issues. One of the witnesses, Tom Stephens, Director of Nevada's Department of Transportation, testified that rural two-lane highways are of special concern in Nevada. He indicated that the number of head-on accidents, which almost always include at least one vehicle with no fault, were especially troublesome in his state. I would note that Nevada has about 1,300 miles of rural two-lane NHS highways. Excluding interstates, 92 percent of the rural NHS miles in Nevada are still only two-lane roads. Along with Nevada, many other States have long stretches of two-lane NHS roads. For example, Texas has over 3,400 miles of rural two-lane NHS roads. In Montana, 95 percent of all rural NHS roads are still only two lanes.”