ROAD WARRIOR
City of Albuquerque looking at design options for San Antonio Drive
Two speed cameras added on Central Avenue; N.M. 337 bridge work continues
Reader Paul Britt said he wanted to know if there were plans to fix the 鈥渦ndulating pavement鈥 on San Antonio Drive.
鈥淚t鈥檚 deteriorating and getting almost undriveable,鈥 he said. 鈥淐ars are truly going to start breaking (not braking), if something is not done.鈥
City of Albuquerque Department of Municipal Development (DMD) spokesperson Gabe Chavez said in an email the city鈥檚 engineering team is looking at design options and 鈥渨ill recommend an approach for San Antonio Drive by the end of the year, with the goal of administering those changes in the next year or so.鈥
San Antonio Drive is a 1 1/2-mile stretch between Interstate 25 and Wyoming NE.
鈥淲e will share the resulting study and recommendations with the public, and community participation through public meetings will help inform the solution,鈥 he said.
MEDIAN DEMOLITION: The New Mexico Department of Transportation is reminding motorists that traffic in both directions on Rio Bravo Boulevard 鈥 between Second and Isleta SE 鈥 will be reduced to one lane so crews can demolish the medians as part of the Rio Bravo Bridge Replacement Project.
The lane reductions will take place from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily through Friday.
鈥淢otorists traveling through the area should expect delays, allow additional travel time, and seek an alternate route when possible,鈥 NMDOT District 3 spokesperson Kim Gallegos said.
QUICK BUILD: On Friday, Journal reporter Matt Reisen wrote about the Albuquerque City Council鈥檚 decision to pass an amendment to a city ordinance, directing the DMD to consider quick-build treatments 鈥 to improve safety for all users 鈥 when planning repaving and other road construction projects.
Quick build uses cheaper materials such as paint, plastic barriers or natural elements like planters and boulders to reduce traffic lanes, slow speeds and segregate areas meant for pedestrians and cyclists, Reisen reported.
NEW SPEED CAMERAS: Two new speed cameras are now up and running in Albuquerque. They are located on westbound Central between Louisiana and Wyoming NE and northbound Louisiana between Central and Lomas.
There are now 40 speed cameras across the city. Six of those have been added since July 24.
N.M. 337 BRIDGES: NMDOT is replacing two bridges along N.M. 337, north of Torreon.
NMDOT District 5 spokesperson Jim Murray said the old bridges have been removed and the next step will be constructing bridge decks.
鈥淭hese improvements are designed to enhance traffic flow and increase safety for motorists traveling through the area,鈥 he said.
The project, which began on May 15 and costs about $8.03 million, is expected to wrap up in June.
MOTORCYCLE DANGER: A recent study identified three New Mexico junctions as being 鈥渕ost feared by motorcyclists鈥 in the 近距离内射合集 States.
The tenth most feared location is Paseo del Norte and Coors Boulevard in Albuquerque.
鈥淒rivers have several lanes of traffic and multiple turning movements to process before they are fully through the junction,鈥 the study states. 鈥淎 bike can be clearly visible on the approach and then become masked by larger vehicles once traffic begins to bunch or spread out. That changing line of sight can make a turning decision feel far less predictable from the rider鈥檚 side.鈥
The two other New Mexico junctions mentioned in the study are St. Francis Drive and Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe (103rd) and Elks Drive and Main Street in Las Cruces, which was ranked 126th.
Gregory R.C. Hasman is a general assignment reporter and the Road Warrior. He can be reached at ghasman@abqjournal.com or 505-823-3820.