Antelope Wells Port Of Entry
Antelope Wells receives the least traffic of any Mexico–United States border crossing, so little that the CBP does not report official statistics for the facility. In 2017, the average traffic was estimated at 750–1000 personal vehicles per month, up from 200–500 five years earlier. In 2014, traffic was reported to sometimes be as low as four vehicles per day. Despite the light traffic volume, a new $11 million U.S. port of entry facility was built in 2013. Mexico has also worked to improve access to the crossing by paving the 6-mile (9.7 km) dirt access road connecting it to Federal Highway 2. However, it was reported in January 2017 that construction was on hold with about 1 mile (1.6 km) still consisting of a rutted dirt track.
The Antelope Wells border crossing was established in 1872 under President Ulysses S. Grant and was named after a nearby ranch. It has been staffed since 1928.
Recreation
The Antelope Wells Port of Entry had served in the past as the southern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail; since the mid-1990s access to the divide at the US-Mexico border is restricted due to private ownership of the land by Diamond A Ranch. To avoid an extended road walk along Highway 81, the official beginning of the CDT is now at Crazy Cook, New Mexico northeast of Antelope Wells in the Big Hatchet Mountains.
References
- ^ Hennessy-Fiske, Molly (January 7, 2019). "Forbidding terrain and foreboding feelings at remote border crossing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
- ^ Villagran, Lauren (March 30, 2014). "Antelope Wells port sees little traffic". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
- ^ "Antelope Wells Crossing To Temporarily Close April 18". U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
- ^ "Antelope Wells Port Reopens To Traffic Following Temporary Pandemic Shutdown". U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
- ^ Villagran, Lauren (January 23, 2017). "Antelope Wells border crossing waits for final mile of paved road in Mexico". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
- ^ Innes, Stephanie (September 20, 2006). "Quiet N.M. road leads to least-used legal crossing". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved December 15, 2017.