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WORK ON CORRALES ROAD TO GET WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER: Last week Corrales Road was down to one lane, with flag crews alternately directing traffic north, then south, because a sewer project got complicated when a drop inlet, used to drain water from the roadway, cracked/collapsed the pavement.
This week the lane closure continues.
Phil Gallegos, who handles information for the New Mexico Department of Transportation, says “until further notice, N.M. 448/Corrales Road will have the southbound lane closed due to roadway failure. N.M. 448 northbound will remain open until repairs are initiated, and then northbound will also be closed.”
Southbound drivers can detour onto Loma Larga and Meadowlark.
Early next week, crews will begin repairing the road. “If all goes well,” Gallegos says, “we are looking at two to four days to fix the road and open N.M. 448. During the repair, N.M. 448 will be completely closed.”
WHY DOESN’T RIO RANCHO BUILD A PASEO ALTERNATIVE? CB says “a great deal of the traffic on Paseo del Norte is from Rio Rancho.”
And so, the email goes on, “Rio Rancho needs a connection to Interstate 25 from Northern Boulevard. This would greatly relieve traffic on Paseo.”
Need and likelihood are two very different things.
Peter Wells, Rio Rancho’s communications officer, says “creating a connection from Northern Boulevard in Rio Rancho to I-25 in Albuquerque would require another river crossing. A project of this scope and magnitude would be driven by the Mid-Region Council of Governments and the state.”
And MRCOG has said a new river crossing isn’t going to fix what is ultimately a planning issue.
Back in 2010, MRCOG projected that the Metro-area region will grow by 650,000 people by 2035. And officials explained that “if the growth patterns stay the same and the primary job market remains east of the river and the primary growth area for housing remains west of the river, then the draw on the river crossings is going to be something that gets exacerbated over time.”
They also explained that while adding capacity to existing river crossings or building new river crossings sound like an obvious fix, “that’s a really expensive proposition because not only do you need to build a river crossing, you really need to enhance the major north-south arterials on both sides of the river to accept that traffic, as well. … I don’t think it’s the silver bullet you would think it is.”
So officials have opted to take a “holistic” approach, focusing on improving efficiency, i.e. responding quickly to incidents that clog roads, as well as potential improvements to mass transit, the use of high-occupancy vehicle lanes, and a better balance in land-use planning.
CIELO VISTA DEL NORTE, AT LAST: Since October, kisty has tried to get the signs to her home off Alameda near Coors Bypass straightened out, primarily so EMS personnel know how to get to medical emergencies involving her husband.
And crews have tried, most recently putting up new signs directing drivers to Cielo Vista del Norte and Cielo Vista del Sur.
Kisty said last month that still wasn’t right, and the county stuck with her to fix it.
On March 11, kisty sent an email update that the signs had been adjusted. “You did it! And just in time. Ed fell and called 911 from his medical alert. The fireman and ambulance found him with no trouble. The corrected sign is right across from our driveway where it should be. Thanks a million.”
Thank Bernalillo County’s Public Works Department, which made sure the sign job was done to everyone’s satisfaction.
Assistant editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the Metro area on Mondays and West Siders and Rio Ranchoans on Thursdays. Reach her at 823-3858; road@abqjournal.com; P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, NM 87103; or go to ABQjournal.com/traffic to read previous columns and join in the conversation.
— This article appeared on page 1 of the West Side Journal
