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Thursday, October 08, 2009
Spaceport Construction Worries TorC Residents
By Rene Romo
Journal Southern Bureau
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES — The road to the region's economic future and the construction of Spaceport America runs through this city's historic Downtown, but some local business owners want the route changed.
David Montoya Construction is in the early stages of building a 10,000-foot-long, 200-foot-wide runway at the Upham site of Spaceport America, the state-financed commercial aerospace facility about 23 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences.
The $28 million construction project requires 290,000 tons of sand and gravel from a quarry in Williamsburg. To haul that material, a Montoya subcontractor plans in the next few weeks to deploy a small fleet of 20 to 40 heavy trucks that, by the end of the six-month project, will have made more than 10,000 round trips through the historic Downtown, on Broadway and Main Street.
The prospect of a steady stream of 40-ton trucks rumbling up two-lane Broadway and shaking buildings on the way to Upham has prompted a group of business people, including owners of hot springs-fed spas in the Downtown, to ask for a change to the 33-mile route.
"It will be a big blow to the tourism industry," said Rhonda Brittan, owner of Black Cat Books and Coffee. "I think all our nerves are going to be fried by the time this project is done if they don't change the route."
Downtown business owners are circulating a petition calling for a route change, and a meeting with contractors is scheduled Tuesday.
City Commissioner Steve Green said Broadway is a state road, and neither the city nor the state Department of Transportation can prevent trucks from using the route. The City Commission has, however, asked Montoya Construction to have trucks voluntarily reduce their speed in Downtown to 15 mph, from the posted 25 mph speed limit, and to postpone the start of hauling from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. to reduce the noise that will fall on several motels and their guests.
The Department of Transportation recommended the trucks bypass Downtown by taking Interstate 25 north and then circling down to the Upham route.
But Vincent Martinez, a Montoya representative, said that alternative route would add 12 miles to each truck round trip and an extra expense of about $325,000.
A change is possible, Martinez said, but it would cost the Spaceport Authority.
Steve Landeene, executive director of the Spaceport Authority, said a route change is not out of the question, but additional analysis is needed.
"More important than the money is the safety issue, to me," Landeene said. "Hopefully over the next week folks will discuss this issue and come up with a resolution that is palatable to all parties. You are never going to please everybody."
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