WEB FIRST: Traffic complaints move village to act on Main Street traffic problems

LOS LUNAS — Local residents have been very vocal about snarled traffic and interminable wait times on N.M. 6 between Los Morros Road and Interstate 25, said Los Lunas officials this week, as driver frustration reached a boiling point.

On Wednesday, Los Lunas Public Works Director Michael Jaramillo said the village is trying to address the issue, as well as wrap up work on expanding the on-and-off ramps to I-25 north.

The traffic congestion that has plagued N.M. 6 from Los Morros to the I-25 interchange for the last few weeks is the result of a “perfect storm” of construction-related challenges, Jaramillo said on Wednesday.

I-25, N.M. 6 upgrades coming soon

The recent failure of the traffic controller at the intersection on Main and I-25 is part of the problem, Jaramillo said, as well as a faulty pedestrian signal controller.

The goal is to wrap it up by the end of March. That’s our goal,” Jaramillo said. “We are hoping with some creative work that we can probably have it functioning by the end of the month (February) in some capacity where we’d get better relief.”

The most recent headache was caused by a pedestrian signal controller at the Main Street and the I-25 intersection. This controller, which is currently integrated with temporary construction signals, malfunctioned, Jaramillo said. That error began forcing all traffic lights into a prolonged “pedestrian mode,” even when no one was pushing the button at the time.

“The traffic is stalling out because the signals aren’t giving people enough time to transition ... instead of getting 10 cars through on a signal change, you’re only getting like four cars,” Jaramillo said, noting that crews were working to correct the signal failure that severely restricted traffic flow.

He confirmed that a replacement controller was located in Albuquerque and crews were installing it as of Wednesday afternoon.

The News-Bulletin checked at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday and it showed significant improvements, with no significant backup in traffic. That was not the case when a VCNB reporter drove through the area on the previous Friday. That afternoon, traffic was backed up all the way to Los Morros Road, as well as up Desert Willow Road, beside Walmart.

Jaramillo also cited a problem with a burned-out main controller at the I-25/Main Street intersection. This problem, which he said was likely caused by an electrical spike, contributed to the periodic backups that extended from the I-25 bridge back to Los Morros Road over the past few weeks.

Due to the traffic problems, Jaramillo said the Los Lunas Police Department has been heavily involved in the area, with officers regularly deployed to the affected intersections, including Desert Willow and I-25, to direct traffic and mitigate backups.

Police have also been monitoring the intersection of N.M. 6 and Los Morros to prevent drivers from illegally using the merge lane from Huning Ranch Loop East to bypass the queue of cars.

“Los Lunas Police Department has been involved pretty much almost on a daily occurrence,” Jaramillo explained, “because even the traffic signals are working, there happens to be officers stationed in the area.”

Jaramillo emphasized the village is doing its best to be responsive to citizen concerns.

“When they call us, what we’re telling them is, ‘Look, we get it. We understand, we hear you,” he said. “We are working with all the experts in the field to ensure the traffic moves during this construction project. However, there’s gonna be some bugs that are gonna show themselves, and we’ve got to fix them. We’ve got to repair them and get everything back online.”

Regarding the Interstate 25 on-and-off ramp project, Jaramillo said the goal is to have the roadway functioning “in some capacity” for better relief by the end of March. The project is awaiting delivery of a new traffic controller, which is not expected until mid-March.

Currently, work on the northbound off-ramp on the west side of the bridge is nearing completion, with one of the two off-ramps in use. The lane additions to the off-ramp are also underway, as are the installation of new traffic lights and some concrete work on the west side of the bridge.

While the major work is scheduled to wrap up in March, Jaramillo said some final elements, like thermal plastic striping, will require crews to return in late spring to finish items like thermal stripping.