Serving the southern counties of Lincoln and Otero ~
"Our New Mexico Highways"
District 7 encompasses the counties of Otero and Lincoln in Southern New Mexico. The main highways within the district are:
US 54 from the Texas state line all the way to Corona, NM covering 171 miles.
US 70 from the Dona Ana county line to the Chavez county line covering 131 miles.
US 82 from Alamogordo to the Chavez county line covering 44 miles.
US 380 from the Soccoro county line to the US 380/US 70 intersection covering 54 miles.
U.S. Highway 70 serves as a “shortcut for the traveler driving the I-10 to I-40 corridor and visa versa.
These two counties are very vast and rural; which offer the traveler wide-open views and mountainous-style driving.
The district now operates the Orogrande Port-of-Entry / Commercial vehicle Inspection Station (opened in Jan 2008) located on US 54 @ Mile Marker 41 (Northbound) to serve the trucking industry entering the State of NM from El Paso, Texas. The hours of operation are normally
Sunday-Monday from 7am to 10 pm. The hours of operation occasionally vary depending on staffing levels.
Otero County
Otero County is home to Holloman Air Force base and the F-22 Raptor. Also located in the county is White Sands National Monument, Sunspot Observatory, Space Hall of Fame Museum and the 9,000 feet above sea-level Village of Cloudcroft; with a population of less than 1000 people. The biggest city in the county is Alamogordo, NM.
Lincoln County
Lincoln County is best known for “Billy the Kid” and offers a favorite recreation spot for travelers. Ruidoso is the largest Village in Lincoln County and is home to some great recreation, golf, hiking, biking, good food and of course the Ski Apache ski area; located 10-15 miles from downtown Ruidoso. Another favorite of the locals and the non-locals is the Ruidoso Downs horse racetrack. This track offers a casino, concerts by music stars on selected nights in the summer and of course the track plays host to the “ALL American Futurity” horse race every Labor Day weekend.
