Email
Interstate 25 is a federal highway. N.M. 423, better known as Paseo del Norte, is a state highway. And so far the only government entity to put some skin in the game to rebuild the traffic-clogged interchange is the city of Albuquerque.
Because the interchange is a key commuter route for Albuquerque residents, it is more than a good-faith gesture for Mayor Richard Berry and the City Council to steer $46.5 million toward the first phase of what will ultimately be a $350 million rebuild. Phase One also is more than a Band-Aid. If the state matches the city’s investment this legislative session, then construction on two free-flow ramps (north I-25 to west Paseo del Norte and east Paseo del Norte to south I-25) and a grade separation removing the traffic signal at Paseo and Jefferson can get under way in 2013. The interchange currently handles about 56 million vehicles a year, according to Berry, and projections from the Mid-Region Council of Governments for 2035 “are a transportation nightmare for this city,” according to City Councilor Dan Lewis. Department of Municipal Development director Michael Riordan says with just the first $93 million phase “it has been calculated travel delays would be reduced by 60 percent, safety would improve at Paseo del Norte and I-25 (by reducing dangerous backups), there would be congestion relief on parallel river crossings, and an estimated $2.5 million in fuel costs would be saved over the next 20 years.” The city lost out on up to $35 million in federal transportation grant money last year, but the City Council has already set aside money to pay for Albuquerque’s share of the I-25/Paseo road bonds. Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming and the chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee, says paying for a new interchange is “a state responsibility.” Gov. Susana Martinez’s office has said she will support the project if the Legislature approves funding. The I-25/Paseo interchange carries more than 150,000 New Mexicans every day — and that’s a lowball number that assumes single-occupant vehicles. Come Tuesday, it’s time for state lawmakers to get behind the wheel, meet the city halfway and put this much-needed rebuild in gear. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
