By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
There's a new committee in the East Mountains, and it wants answers.
The East Mountain Regional Planning Committee had its second meeting Aug. 18 and the topic was something near and dear to many residents' hearts: potential backups in Tijeras Canyon.
Periodic emergency closures of the freeway have been an issue for motorists for a number of years. But a five-car wreck a year ago that had Interstate 40 closed for several hours during the height of rush-hour traffic has spurred a long-term effort to try and prevent extensive delays and clogged roadways in the future.
So far, the Department of Transportation has installed gates on several on-ramps near the canyon along I-40 in Albuquerque to keep traffic from entering the freeway when it is backed up, installed message boards to notify motorists of major stalls along the roadway and installed cameras to monitor traffic, according to Larry Velasquez, District 3 engineer with the Department of Transportation.
It's not enough, though, according to Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Brasher.
Sandoval County Commissioner Orlando Lucero, Torrance County Commissioner LeRoy Candelaria, Tijeras Mayor Gloria Chavez, and Tijeras Councilor Maxine Wilson were also on hand at the meeting to discuss the issue.
Currently, the only break in the median from the Carnuel exit to the Tijeras interchange is near the bridge at Coyote Springs Road. The break is too narrow for semis or for some emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks, Brasher said. He said many of his constituents are not satisfied.
"They're not happy. They're stuck in traffic and they're stuck behind an accident and they're not happy," he said.
Velasquez disagreed. He also pointed out that, with construction on the interstate, cars going 45 miles per hour are directed off of the westbound lane through a 1,000-foot opening. Velasquez did not mention past incidents of wrong-way drivers on the road, but said if traffic can move that quickly, even a seemingly small opening may be too big of a risk.
He said there is another fix in the works for another cause of slowdowns. Local law enforcement may soon have technology, such as photogrammetry equipment, which uses a series of digital images to document an accident or crime scene and create a three-dimensional picture. These kinds of technologies are touted to be able to reduce the time needed for a complicated investigation and get traffic moving.
But traffic accidents are not the only reason the canyon is shut down.
Another method used in Colorado to move traffic in the winter, Velasquez said, is shutting down a road to all vehicles but trucks with chains.
"They would help us because they break up the ice," he said.
Both Brasher and Velasquez conceded that the issue couldn't be resolved in a single meeting, and it will likely be discussed again, and Brasher said he hoped to involve a few emergency vehicle drivers to weigh in next time.
Brasher said he'd also like to bring in more leaders from the East Mountains for the next meeting.
"This group has to grow and get stronger," he said.
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