Sunport and Ellison works are in progress
WHAT’S WITH SUNPORT’S UNUSABLE LANES AND SIGNALS? Doug Stack of Belen emails, “I am wondering why the Sunport Road now has new lanes that can’t be used and the flashing traffic lights? Why was this money spent? Will the traffic lights function even? Why was the turnaround put in and blocked off at the end of Sunport?” Because work on the project is in its very early stages. Amor Solano of Bernalillo County’s Operations and Maintenance Department says, “We are in the process of building an off-ramp to connect to Broadway.”
And engineering manager Rodrigo L. Eichwald goes further, explaining “it was done as the first phase of the Sunport Boulevard Extension Project. Those are the improvements that are needed for when Sunport is extended down to Broadway. The project should be let out for bids in the next month, and construction should follow a couple of months after that.”
WHY DID ABQ LEAVE ELLISON HALF-DONE? Duane Meneely of Albuquerque has a question about “the longdelayed repaving of Ellison Road NW. (In November), crews finally repaved and re-striped the westbound lanes of Ellison between Coors Bypass and Seven Bar Loop. But, then, they quit and went home, leaving us still dodging tank traps when traveling eastbound on Ellison. Why would they do half a job and then quit, and when will they return and finish?”
Weather, and they will finish when it warms up. In previous columns, road experts have shared that much paving work requires temperatures to be 60 degrees and rising.
Johnny Chandler, public information coordinator for Albuquerque’s Department of Municipal Development, says, “The street maintenance division made repairs this fall to the westbound lanes on Ellison Road NW between Coors Bypass NW and Seven Bar Loop NW. The eastbound lanes of Ellison will be evaluated for roadwork next spring due to temperatures becoming too cold to pave. Road repairs such as pot holes happen year-round, and we encourage community members to call 311 to report them.”
RENEW THAT HANDICAPPED PLACARD ONLINE: It’s always nice to get first-hand reports from readers on what works, and we have one from Bob Dean.
Last month, Bob emailed, “My wife’s handicap placard expires next month and she has the paperwork signed by a doctor to get it renewed. I sent an email to MVD Express over a month ago about getting an appointment to do this but they never responded. Your column in (the Dec. 7) paper seems to indicate we might be able to do this online, but before I waste a lot of time searching the state website can you let me know if this is possible? Her current card has her picture on the back but I assume MVD has a copy and can probably issue a renewal with the same picture, no?”
Yes. After sharing he should “go to mvd.newmexico.gov, click online services on the left, then e-services, click on drivers and placards on the right, then renew placard.” I asked Bob to please let us know if it worked. And he did, because it did. Later that same day, he replied, “Done! Thank you very much. They didn’t require any supporting documentation or payment. Looks like an honor system.” And this month he provided this update: “The new placards arrived during the holidays, however we did get an email confirmation initially with a printable substitute until the originals were received. FYI: the new cards expire three years from the issuance date of Dec. 7, 2020, rather than three years from the expiration of the current ones that expire in late January.”
KIOSK CRITICISM: Last week the state Motor Vehicle Division announced two self-service kiosks in local Albertsons stores. They allow customers to avoid MVD offices and appointments and “instantly renew and print vehicle registrations” complete with plate sticker. MVD was clear this is a pilot program that may be expanded if they prove successful.
Let’s hope for the sake of convenience they do. As one reader points out, “They’re both on the east side of Albuquerque,” (4950 Montgomery and 2910 Juan Tabo) and “they charge extra fees” (there is a $3.95 fee plus a $2.3% credit card fee, but MVD then calculates a 5% discount on the transactions). And for Bernalillo County residents, know that your emissions certificate is electronically sent to MVD by the testing site.