Unser and Southern Intersection Has Close Call

A NEAR HEAD-ON TURNING OFF UNSER: Gene Filion emails “there is an accident waiting to happen at the intersection of Unser and Southern Boulevard in Rio Rancho.”

He explains that “Unser has two left-turn lanes going northbound to westbound Southern and two going southbound to eastbound Southern. Normally both northbound left-turn lanes turn with northbound traffic going straight, and the southbound lanes turn with the southbound lanes going straight.”

Gene says “the intersection is not wide enough to accommodate both north- and southbound lanes turning at the same time. (Yet) this is exactly what happened when I was turning left from northbound Unser to westbound Southern at 12:30 a.m. Jan. 1. All four left-turn lanes, two northbound and two southbound, got the green arrow at the same time. I was in the right-hand lane turning left and met head-on with a southbound car in (that) right-hand lane turning left. We had to take turns getting around each other in the middle of the intersection.

“Please contact whoever is in charge of signal timing and have this corrected before an accident occurs.”

Peter Wells, communications officer for the city of Rio Rancho, says “nothing has recently changed” with regards to signal timing and progression at the Unser/Southern intersection, which “can accommodate both turning movements.”

But that doesn’t mean some drivers aren’t turning wide. And if a driver in the inside/left turn lane swings wide, it forces the driver in the outside/right turn lane to do the same.

So Wells says “re-striping the markings in the intersection that guide motorists through when turning is scheduled for the near future.”

ISLETA UPGRADES STARTING: David Mitchell, director of Bernalillo County’s Operations and Maintenance Department, says “we’re putting the finishing touches (Wednesday) on a project at the south end of Isleta Boulevard just north of Interstate 25 that cleaned up the Malpais intersection and put a right-in/right-out curb restrictor for the Chevron station, curbed turn bay, painted islands and a dual-striped shoulder lane, which while not being marked as a bike lane provides that dedicated buffer space and leaves room for pedestrians on the shoulders.”

He says “the through lanes are narrowed and the stripes are extra wide. It provides the model for how the rest of Isleta will look north between I-25 and Gun Club Road as we keep rejuvenating the surfacing for Isleta all the way.”

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 10 of the Albuquerque Journal