Paseo construction to resume April 4
The ongoing construction along Paseo del Pueblo Sur in Taos will resume on April 4 after workers took a winter break due to poor weather conditions. The road construction was in Phase 2 when the break occurred, halting the work on the main street through Taos from Albright Street/Tewa Street to Quesnel Street/Camino de la Placita.
Traffic patterns will change slightly as crews move toward the north side of town. While the intersection of Los Pandos Road and Paseo del Pueblo Sur is technically open, several barricades remain in place, and turns from the Paseo onto Los Pandos Road are “discouraged,” according to a news release from the New Mexico Department of Transportation. Alternately, NMDOT is encouraging drivers to use a detour route by using Gusdorf Road to access Los Pandos.
Traffic will also be shifted to the west side of Paseo del Pueblo Sur, with one lane of traffic open in each direction. “Motorists traveling through this area should expect delays and obey the 25-mile-per-hour speed limit,” said the statement.
The construction has been just over two years in the works after initial construction began several miles south near the intersection with La Posta Road/Cervantes Street.
As crews get back to work, the New Mexico Department of Transportation expects Phase 2 of the project — from Albright to Quesnel — to be completed by “summer of 2022,” according to the website taosnm6864.com, which posts updates on the project.
Phase 3 is expected to begin in “late 2022,” according to the site, and will cover the area from the intersection of Paseo and Quesnel/Camino de la Placita northward to the intersection with Civic Plaza Drive, just in front of Kit Carson Park.
The third phase is expected to have a similar workflow to the current phase, with crews scheduled for a winter break from December 2022, resuming in April 2023.
The full project is expected to be completed in 2024. “Final construction activities such as painting, striping and installation of landscaping are tentatively scheduled to occur in late 2023,” reads the press release.