New Mexico State Road 28

State Road 28
State Road 28
Lou Henson Highway
	NM 28 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by NMDOT
Length	30.346 mi (48.837 km)
Existed	1905–present
Major junctions
South end	FM 259 at the Texas state line
	NM 273 in La Union; NM 292 in Las Cruces; I-10 in Las Cruces; NM 188 in Las Cruces;
North end	NM 478 in Las Cruces
Location
Country	United States
State	New Mexico
Counties	Doña Ana
Highway system
	New Mexico State Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Scenic;

New Mexico State Road 28 (NM 28) is a 30.346-mile-long (48.837 km) paved, two-lane state highway in Doña Ana County, in the U.S. state of New Mexico. It travels south-to-north roughly paralleling the Rio Grande.

The southern terminus of NM 28 is at the Texas state line west of Canutillo where Farm to Market Road 259 (FM 259; Canutillo La Union Avenue) ends. The northern terminus is in Las Cruces where it intersects NM 478. It also has an interchange with Interstate 10 (I-10) in Las Cruces, shortly before its terminus.

Route description edit

The highway begins west of Canutillo at the New Mexico - Texas state line where Texas FM 259 highway ends. It continues west-northwest for approximately 0.423 miles (0.681 km) before turning mostly north following the Rio Grande on the west side. NM 28 passes through agricultural communities of the Mesilla Valley such as La Union, Anthony, Vado, Chamberino and La Mesa. The highway passes through a multitude of fields, dairy farms, vineyards, and pecan orchards. After 23.04 miles (37.08 km) the road crosses the Rio Grande over a 369.1-foot-long (112.5 m) bridge, built in 1989, and continues on to Mesilla. After passing through downtown Mesilla as Avenida de Mesilla, NM 28 turns northeast and at 29.674 miles (47.756 km) the highway crosses Interstate 10. NM 28 then continues northeast for another 0.672 miles (1.081 km) until its end at the junction with NM 478.

History edit

NM 28 was originally created in 1905 by the Territorial Legislative Assembly, and in 1909 it was designated as State Road 28 by the Territorial Roads Commission. After New Mexico attained statehood in 1912, the newly created State Highway Commission redesignated NM 28 as an official state highway. Originally the north terminus of the highway was at intersection with Route 1 in Mesquite. In mid-1930s the highway was extended all the way to Las Cruces. Between mid-1940s and mid-1960s NM 28 was lengthened all the way to US 80/US 85 in Doña Ana and Radium Springs. By late 1960s the highway's northern terminus was shifted back to Las Cruces.^[2]^[3]

New Mexico governor Bill Richardson originally requested the State Transportation Commission to consider renaming NM 28 as the Lou Henson Highway. Reynold E. Romero, General Counsel for the Department of Transportation, appeared before the State Transportation Commission on February 17, 2005, and requested Commission approval of Resolution 2005–02, dedicating State Highway 28 from Las Cruces to Sunland Park as the Lou Henson Highway. The State Transportation Commission approved the resolution to name the southern New Mexico highway after Lou Henson, a retired New Mexico State University basketball coach. Governor Bill Richardson dedicated the historic highway on March 30, 2005, as the Lou Henson Highway, in recognition of the coach.^[2]

Major intersections edit

The entire route is in Doña Ana County.

Location	mi^[4]	km	Destinations	Notes
La Union	0.000	0.000	FM 259 – Canutillo	Southern terminus
	0.423	0.681	NM 273 south – Sunland Park	Northern terminus of NM 273
	3.140	5.053	NM 182 south – La Union	Northern terminus of NM 182
	3.210	5.166	NM 183 east – Vinton	Western terminus of NM 183
Anthony	6.246	10.052	NM 225 east – Anthony	Western terminus of NM 225
Anthony	7.852	12.637	NM 186 east – Anthony	Western terminus of NM 186
Chamberino	10.949	17.621	NM 226 east – Berino	Western terminus of NM 226
La Mesa	14.529	23.382	NM 189 east – Vado	Western terminus of NM 189
San Miguel	19.025	30.618	NM 192 east – Mesquite	Western terminus of NM 192
Las Cruces	27.851	44.822	NM 373
	28.086	45.200	NM 101 north	Southern terminus of NM 101
	28.598	46.024	NM 359 west	Eastern terminus of NM 359
	28.651	46.109	NM 292 north	Southern terminus of NM 292
	29.631	47.686	I-10 / US 180 – Las Cruces, El Paso	I-10 exit 140
	29.934	48.174	NM 188
	30.346	48.837	NM 478	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi