The too-deadly stretch of U.S. Highway 550 between Cuba and Bloomfield is about to see increased police patrols.

The New Mexico State Police Department announced this afternoon it is joining with the Navajo Nation tribal police, the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and the state  Department of Public Safety Special Investigations Division to patrol the four-lane highway in northwestern New Mexico.

“We have secured additional funding to conduct DWI projects on this highway and look forward to working with our fellow agencies in providing a safer highway to all who travel this busy corridor within our state,” State Police Maj. Darren Soland said in a statement released by the DPS.

The agencies plan to use a Navajo Police substation as their base of operation and to put their tactical plan into effect by Jan. 27.

US 550 is notorious for alcohol-related crash with multiple fatalities including a collision on Nov. 18 that killed two people, injured eight more and led to the fifth DWI arrest of one driver.

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