New rockfall project aims to protect I-25 between Raton and Trinidad

Drivers on Interstate 25 between Trinidad and Raton are headed for more lane and shoulder restrictions this summer as crews work to keep rocks off Raton Pass, one of the region’s most important freight and travel routes. The project is meant to reduce the chance that falling rock, sudden slowdowns or a closure will catch commuters, truckers and visitors in a dangerous stretch of mountain highway.

Representatives from the New Mexico Department of Transportation District Four and Fisher Sand & Gravel met publicly April 25 to lay out the work ahead on the New Mexico side of the corridor. The construction effort targets mileposts 454 to 460 at Raton Pass, where state traffic reports said motorists should expect reduced speeds along with lane and shoulder restrictions throughout the project limits.

The work is part of a $27,645,000 project contracted to Fisher Sand & Gravel. NMDOT said the scope includes roadway reconstruction and rehabilitation, earthwork, drainage improvements, new guardrail, rock-cut mitigation, erosion repair and control, and permanent traffic-control signage and striping. In plain terms, the goal is to stabilize the slope, catch rock before it reaches the pavement and make the interstate safer for the vehicles that rely on it every day.

The pass has already shown why that matters. In May 2024, Fisher Sand & Gravel planned rock work near the 454 overpass after identifying a large boulder on the verge of falling. Eight-foot rock fencing was also planned in that area. Earlier work on the corridor addressed rockfall and settlement issues while adding wildlife protections, including more than six miles of game fencing, wildlife escape ramps, double cattle guards and two 32-foot-wide arched wildlife underpasses.

That earlier wildlife project also carried a measurable change. NMDOT reported 102 deer carcasses in the two years before construction and a 60% reduction in carcasses in the two years after the project was completed. For a corridor that carries both local traffic and long-haul freight between southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, that kind of reduction matters as much as the rockfall fixes.

The current project is not starting from scratch. In November 2025, NMDOT and Fisher Sand & Gravel said the Interstate 25 project from Raton to the Colorado state line had been placed under winter suspension, with final surfacing and shoulder rumble strip work paused by cold temperatures. All lanes were reopened through the winter, setting up the summer season as the next step in a multi-phase corridor repair that aims to keep one of Las Animas County’s most heavily used mountain links open and safer.