West Texas oil town explores bypass for growing oil and gas traffic

Mike Smith, Carlsbad Current-Argus
·2 min read

Besieged by increased semitrailer oil and gas traffic, Reeves County leaders and other Texas state officials are considering the construction of a road to bypass the community of Pecos.

Curtis Dale Wilson, road and bridge engineer for Reeves County, said the heavy truck traffic started nearly 10 years ago amid a boom in the Permian Basin.

“We have no bypass, everyone of those trucks comes right through the middle of town,” Wilson said.

Since 2019, the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) has studied a proposed relief route for Pecos, considering a study that outlines proposed route locations along U.S. highway 285, according to the department's website.

The department, on its website, acknowledges that the "capacity of U.S. 285 through Pecos is inadequate to meet current and future traffic volumes, resulting in congestion, reduced mobility and a reduced level of service."

A semitrailer travels north on U.S. 285 in Artesia on Dec. 6, 2023. Heavy truck traffic in Pecos, Texas has that community looking at building a truck bypass.
A semitrailer travels north on U.S. 285 in Artesia on Dec. 6, 2023. Heavy truck traffic in Pecos, Texas has that community looking at building a truck bypass.

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In 2019, TXDOT reported travel time on U.S. 285 through Pecos took up to 20 minutes during peak hours, noting that much of the traffic - 20% to 40% - was associated with "the growing energy sector."

The Department said the relief route would likely run around the east side of the Pecos.

Texas Department of Transportation is also considering substantial improvements along 51 miles on U.S. 285 south of the New Mexico state line to Pecos to "improve safety and enhance mobility on and near U.S. 285 north."

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It's part of a series of improvements made to the highway that runs through both Texas and New Mexico. Since 2022, the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) has worked on roadway, bridge reconstruction and drainage extensions on U.S. 285 near Malaga, and the department is proposing a port of entry on the highway south of Loving, New Mexico.

Wilson said a relief route was vital to the revitalization of Pecos' downtown area to capture the economic benefit of the industry and population growth, as local government leaders pointed to increased traffic from the industry interfering with tourism.

The town of Pecos, just over the New Mexico/Texas border, experienced a population increase from 2010 to 2020, according to U.S. Census Data, with increased oil and gas activity. In 2010, Pecos population was 8,780 and rose to 12,916 in 2020.

“There is a lot of history here, an incredible amount of history dealing with the development of the Southwest,” Wilson said.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Pecos, Texas hopes a truck bypass will keep truck traffic out of town