I-25 fixes, signals for Gibson/98th on the way

CAN WE GET SOME I-25 REPAIRS? That request comes from Tom, who says in an email, “The state spent mega-dollars expanding southbound I-25 in the Jefferson/ Montgomery area two years ago. The company that laid the asphalt ought to be sued. The road is a total mess. The section just south of Montgomery is equally bad. Every time I prepare to exit at Montgomery, one of my teeth fillings falls out.

“Adding to the misery of the condition of this freeway are the potholes and deteriorating roadway just north of the Alameda exit,” Tom adds. “The state appears to be ready to work on the left side, lane one, of I-25 in the area of Paseo del Norte. That section isn’t too bad. How do we get the state to work on the really bad sections?”

It will take higher temperatures and night crews.

Kimberly Gallegos of the state Department of Transportation’s District 3 office in Albuquerque says, “This area of Jefferson to Montgomery that Thomas is referring to is programed in the Montgomery interchange project. This will be included in the rebuild of the Montgomery interchange. The NMDOT is aware of this issue and has worked to program funds into this project.

“As for the portion of what is north of Alameda, that work has been postponed till night work when warmer temperatures are favorable, possibly March/April restart for southbound. Yes, lane one has been done, because we can still maintain two lanes of traffic with traffic control in place. Traffic backup is a concern if the contractor proceeds to lane two. Working lane two would leave I-25 southbound one lane during the day work, so the remaining portion is being held till night work can be conducted.”

WHERE ARE THE 98TH/GIBSON SIGNALS? Julian Meraz emails, “I noticed new traffic signals at Blake Road and 98th Street SW, and while this is certainly a welcome addition, it was the dangerous intersection at 98th and Gibson the community fought to signalize. That intersection was approved by voters and is awaiting additional funding, but why was it decided to build the signals at Blake Road first, instead of applying that funding to get the more-requested Gibson signals built sooner?” Because Gibson has more red tape. Johnny Chandler, who handles information for Albuquerque’s Department of Municipal Development, explains that City Councilor Klarissa Peña and the DMD “recently held a press conference to celebrate the completion of the first of three intersections in the Westgate community area in Southwest Albuquerque. In the next two to three years residents will see intersection improvements at 98th and Benavides and 98th and Gibson.

Ninety-eighth and Benavides will be a multilane roundabout, and 98th and Gibson will be a signalized intersection. The Gibson and 98th street project is federally funded, and the federal approval process takes longer than projects that use local funding.”

UTILITY WORK SHUTTING MOÑTANO LANE: David Morris of the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority says the utility is “slated to start a valve replacement project on Tuesday … that will have eastbound Montaño narrowed to one lane between Renaissance and Culture just west of I-25, and will also narrow the access to the businesses — McDonald’s, gas station, Starbucks — on the south side of Montaño. We expect this project phase to last about a month.”

“Obviously this will create a serious bottleneck at the affected location,” Morris says, “so commuters are advised to seek alternate routes.”