The next time you approach the Airport Exit on I-10, west of Las Cruces, take 5 minutes to get off the freeway, turn south on Crawford Blvd., and enjoy the newly beautified medians adjacent to Love’s Truck Stop.
Las Cruces City Manager Stuart C. Ed explains, “This location is the entrance to the West Mesa Industrial Park (WMIP) and it’s critical that we visually reflect our vibrant and growing community at this site. The City is dedicated to creating an attractive environment for the WMIP to help bring in industries, warehousing, and manufacturing businesses that will expand and diversify our local economic base and provide new jobs.”
“The WMIP is an 1,800-acre development that is already home to more to 17 private businesses and three governmental operations,” explains Bill R. Hamm, real estate manager/Economic Development Department. “Another 29 businesses are located within a 1-mile radius of the Park. It’s considered an excellent location for light industry, general manufacturing, aviation, and technology-related businesses serving Dona Ana County, El Paso, and the US/Mexico border.”
The newly beautified medians stretch 425 feet within city right-of-way and have gone through a remarkable construction upgrade and beautification transformation and are now populated with boulders, swales, native plantings, and a lovely roadrunner sculpture.
“The meandering swales running through the center of each median are an important water conservation element – they not only are visually attractive, but they capture and conserve runoff storm water to help hydrate the plantings - reducing the amount of irrigation water needed by the plants,” explains Rhonda Diaz, Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) water conservation program coordinator.
The new rockscape provides the right setting and stabilization for more than 4-dozen drought-tolerant and heat resistant trees, shrubs, and grasses, 20 large and small boulders, and a handsome black wrought iron fence on both sides of the road has been extended toward the WMIP.
You can reach Las Cruces Utilities at 528-3500 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Las Cruces Utilities provides GAS – WATER – WASTEWATER – SOLID WASTE services to approximately 100,000 Las Cruces area residents and businesses.
Suzanne Michaels provides this content on behalf of Las Cruces Utilities