New Mexico State Road 162


State Road 162 is a state highway in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States, that connects U.S. Route 84, south of Tierra Amarilla, with U.S. Route 64 / US 84 (US 64 / US 84 in Tierra Amarilla. NM 162 forms an eastern loop off of NM 84 and is a asphalt paved, two-lane road for its entire length.

Route description

NM 162 begins at a T intersection with US 84 south of the census-designated place of Tierra Amarilla. From its southern terminus NM 162 proceeds north-northeast for before crossing US 62 on the southern edge of Tierra Amarilla.
Entering Tierra Amarilla, NM 162 quickly enters the Tierra Amarilla and continues northerly for just under to reach a T-intersection with the east end of NM 153 on the northeast corner of the Rio Arriba County Courthouse in downtown Tierra Amarilla. At the intersection, NM 162 turns northeast to leave the downtown area and proceeds north.
later, after leaving the Tierra Amarilla Historic District, in the northern outskirts of the community, NM 162 reaches the southern end of NM 573 at another T-intersection. From that intersection, NM 162 turns to proceed northwest and continues through open land with a few houses for before reaching its northern terminus at US 64/US 84 in the northern part of Tierra Amarilla.
The New Mexico Department of Transportation tracks the traffic levels on its highways. On NM 162 in 2017, they determined that on average the traffic was between 1 and 2,999 vehicles per day along the highway.

History

NM 162 was established between 1948 and 1951. It travelled from US 84 north of Tierra Amarilla along modern NM 573 to NM 512 which it followed west to US 84 in Brazos. In 1951, the entire length was an improved gravel road. By 1956, the section from US 84 to Ensenada had been paved. Between 1956 and 1958, US 84 was moved onto a new alignment slightly west of Tierra Amarilla. US 64 originally followed modern NM 68 from Taos to Espanola, then US 84 from there to Santa Fe. On November 24, 1972, AASHTO approved plans to reroute US 64 from Taos through Tres Piedras, Tierra Amarilla, and Bloomfield to Farmington along former NM 111, NM 553 and NM 17. In the 1988 renumbering, NM 512 and NM 573 were created and NM 162's northern terminus was changed to its current location. The former segment of NM 162 Ensenada west to US 64 / US 84 became County Road 339A.