Drivers along Interstate 25 between Algodones and La Bajada will not be able to make U-turns in the median now that crews have finished installing high-tension wire rope barriers in the area.

The improvements come after 22 people died in accidents in the area between 2004 and 2007, according to state Department of Transportation records.

The wire along a 14-mile stretch of the interstate's median is aimed at preventing cars from crossing over into opposing traffic, state Department of Transportation officials say. The approximately 4-foot-high wire also is designed to absorb energy from crashes between cars traveling in the same direction.

The $1.17 million project took about six weeks and was completed last week.

"This new barrier system will greatly enhance safety along this stretch of the highway by preventing any potential crashes caused by vehicles crossing the median," Department of Transportation Secretary Gary Girón said in a statement.

"The barrier system will work by containing and redirecting any errant vehicles. While this system is not a cure for eliminating all accidents, it should significantly reduce them," he said.

The area is no stranger to casualties: DOT records show there were 71 accidents with 38 injuries in the area in 2007; 40 accidents with three fatalities in 2006; 94 accidents with 10 fatalities in 2005 and 111 accidents with nine fatalities in 2004. In 2003, there were 77 accidents with 49 injuries.

The project is paid out of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, DOT spokeswoman Megan Arredondo said.

Later this year, the department plans to extend the barrier farther north to where the Rail Runner Express crosses into the I-25 median, at the top of La Bajada near the rest stop.

There is already a post and cable barrier, in addition to a guardrail where the Rail Runner tracks are, from the rest stop to St. Francis Drive, Arredondo said.

In January, a car rolled multiple times into the median south of Santa Fe, landing close enough to the tracks to delay the Rail Runner Express until the wreck could be cleared.

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.