Saturday, April 5, 2008

Highways and byways

Making the most of what we have, looking to the future

Julia M. Dendinger News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jdendinger@news-bulletin.com

There are hundreds of miles of roadways in Valencia County. They range from small two-lane roads, with fences and fields just a few feet off the pavement, to four-lane highways that sweep through the countryside with nary an impediment in sight.

In 2006, the Valencia County Mobility Plan was developed to address the needs of all those people traveling through and in the county. Modes of transportation from pedestrian to equestrian to motorized vehicle were addressed.

With changes in the county such as the incorporation of the new Town of Peralta and changes in population projections, the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG) took another look at the plan last summer.

Working with local officials and planners and through many community meetings, MRCOG has developed a draft update to the county mobility plan. Starting on Wednesday, MRCOG is hosting a series of three meetings to present the draft of the updated mobility plan and to let the public sit down with staff and give input on the changes.

Loretta Tollefson, director of special project for MRCOG, said that there were two major outcomes from the public meetings and community input last fall.

One, and possibly the most significant, Tollefson said is the removal of a proposed river crossing and interchange in the Los Chavez area in the vicinity of Square Deal Road. "That project has been eliminated as the result of conversations with people last fall," she said.

The second significant change was a modification to a proposed river crossing in the Morris-Miller roads area from one large four-lane crossing to multiple low-profile two-lane crossings that connect existing roadways.

Public comments on that aspect of the project strongly requested that a single, multi-lane "Paseo del Norte type structure" not be constructed. The comments also requested that any new crossings be built within the current boundaries of the Village of Los Lunas.

The draft mobility plan also designates three sub areas for further study - Los Chavez, Peralta and the Tomé, Adelino and Las Constancia area. Tollefson said traffic studies would be done in these areas to develop context-sensitive solutions. ""We want to preserve the flavor of these communities," she said.

The 110-page draft mobility plan is available to the public at www.mrcog-nm.gov. Along with the draft is the executive summary of the mobility plan and comment forms.

Comments will be accepted through Monday, May 5, via e-mail to ltollefson@mrcog-nm.gov, by fax at 247-1753 or by mail to Mid-Region Council of Governments, 807 Copper NW, Albuquerque 87102.

Tollefson said if anyone interested in the mobility plan does not have access to the Internet, to call her at 724-3611 for hard copies of any of the information.

Projects shown on map

See the map at right for these specific projects that are currently in the draft of the mobility plan. Comments are being taken about the plan through May 5. They are:

1 . Expanding N.M. 263 and Meadow Lake Road to four lanes

2. Repaving and expansion of Manzano Expressway

3. New roadway between Meadow Lake Road and North Rio Del Oro Loop

4 . N.M. 47 between Wolfe Lane and River Road. The previous mobility plan had included expanding the road to three to five lanes, including a turn lane. Now there will be a study done to achieve community consensus on how to address the traffic in the area

5 . Corridor study for a river crossing

6. A new interchange located between Miller and Morris roads on Interstate-25

7. A frontage road on the west side of I-25 starting at the north Belen interchange and going up to the new proposed interchange (No. 12) in Isleta.

8. Expansion of the north Belen interchange to four lanes, bringing the roadway west into the Rancho Cielo development

9. Study sub-area in Los Chavez to look at transportation issues and address in a contextually sensitive manner.

10. Study sub-area in the Town of Peralta to look at contextually sensitive solutions to transportation issues in the town.

11. Tomé, Adelino, La Constancia sub-area study of traffic issues to be addressed in a contextually sensitive way

12. A new interchange and two-lane roadway at the boundary between the Village of Los Lunas and Isleta Pueblo. The project was added at the request of the pueblo.

13. A middle turn lane on N.M. 47 on the Pueblo of Isleta.

14. Additional lane on N.M. 6 west of I-25 out to San Clemente.

15. Expand El Cerro Mission Road to four lanes.

16. I-25 access study between exit 261 at the Isleta Elementary School and the south Belen interchange to identify where potential interchanges are appropriate in the long term.

17. Interchange projects already under way in the Village of Los Lunas.

18. Frontage road on east side of I-25 between N.M. 6 south to the north Belen interchange.

19 & 20. Expand North Gabaldon Road from Los Chavez to four lanes, bringing the northern end across the river to near La Entrada Road in Tomé.

21. Additional lanes of I-25, one each way, from N.M. 6 in Los Lunas north to Gibson Avenue in Albuquerque

34. Peralta "gap" project on N.M. 47 through the Town of Peralta for a turning lane between the City of Bosque Farms and the Village of Los Lunas.

(All of the projects are scheduled for the 2008 to 2018 phase of the mobility plan, pending funding, except for 3, 12, 18, 19 and 20.)

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