The road slowly turns east, skirting the Little Florida Mountains from the north, and for the next 11 miles (18 km) traverses sparsely populated desert plains, passing by occasional agricultural fields, ranches and BLM-owned land.

From this point, NM 549 continues following I-10 for approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) before reaching the railroad tracks of the Union Pacific Railway.

The highway continues travelling northeast through the arid desert for about 7 miles (11 km) before reaching its eastern terminus at the juncture with Frontage Road (FR 1028) on the south side of the I-10 exit 116 interchange.

However, when I-10 was finally built, it was routed farther north, largely following the tracks of the Union Pacific Railway all the way to Deming.

In 1988, NMDOT went through a radical road renumbering program, and a stretch of US 80 between Deming and an I-10 interchange near Akela was designated as NM 549.