A New Mexico Department of Transportation plan to close a freeway ramp near Carnuel has residents of some East Mountains communities concerned.
Department officials said in a public meeting in June that the bridge, which crosses the Tijeras Arroyo, is in poor condition. The NMDOT proposes to permanently remove the westbound off-ramp, and route traffic to exit at Tramway Boulevard. That move is seen as more cost-effective than repairing the bridge.
At the meeting, NMDOT officials and contractors said the $4.9 million cost of repairing the westbound off-ramp would exceed the benefit the community would receive from it.
Removing the ramp, they said, would cost $820,000.
The South Frontage Road bridge, just south of I-40, is in satisfactory condition, officials say and provides access to Carnuel and nearby areas.
However, the westbound ramp from I-40 is a key alternate route for people in those communities, said JJ Herrera, president of the Cañón de Carnué Land Grant.
Herrera said the ramp gets heavy use if there’s a bad weather event, or if a crash or fire causes a detour.
“It’s an essential piece of keeping the flow of traffic moving,” he said, adding that joint biennial celebrations by nine mission churches in the area also depend on the ramp.
He said if the ramp closed, westbound traffic would go three miles farther to the exit for Tramway Boulevard/Central Avenue.
Herrera said in some conditions, drivers may not be allowed to get back on the eastbound freeway and have to stay in Albuquerque.
Herrera said he’s hoping department officials will consider other solutions, such as installing a roundabout in a nearby open field or otherwise providing drivers a place to turn around.
He plans to reach out to local authorities and state legislators to try to get the plans altered. Herrera said residents have expressed a willingness to help raise the money for the project if need be.
Bernalillo County Commissioner Eric Olivas, in whose district the exit sits, said closing the ramp could have a depressing effect on the vitality of the affected communities.
He said he’s concerned the closure would make it more difficult for those residents to do business or for emergency vehicles to serve the area.
Olivas said the roads are the jurisdiction of the transportation department, so he doesn’t have much leverage, but he plans to advocate for the residents with the NMDOT, the Legislature and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
“I will use my position to (amplify) their voice,” he said. “This would really disadvantage an area that’s already quite disadvantaged.”
This leaves only ONE way for those who live in the East Mountains & work in Albuquerque to get back & forth from home to work. Where does it leave them when I-40 is closed due to weather, accident, etc.? How do they get home to animals / children? Old 66 has been an alternate for them, removing this bridge will remove the only alternate route. How many of the commissioners have young children attending an East Mountain school & work in Albuquerque? Would THEY like not having an alternate way to get home to them? Stop penalizing & spending money on non-citizens; how about trying to take care of the people who actually live here & pay taxes for services. This is an absolutely ridiculous proposal.