The intersection of N.M. 4 & East Jemez Road prior to work completed in the 2022 construction season. Courtesy/LAC
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
After hitting the brakes on the road improvement project at the intersection of N.M. 4 and East Jemez Road in December due to the winter season, the project is revving up again.
A spokesperson for the contractor on the project, Star Paving, explained that the project’s major point is to improve safety but also to help with traffic flow for commuters to the laboratory.
NNSA Los Alamos Field Office Public Affairs Specialist Toni Chiri said as a driver who utilizes the intersection on a daily basis, she personally is looking forward to the final product.
“I live in White Rock and I drive through there on a daily basis … from a personal perspective, I look forward to it being improved … accidents (occur) during rush hour … I was even in one … I am looking forward to seeing what it will look like at the end,” Chiri said.
Los Alamos County Public Works Director Juan Rael agreed the project will benefit everyone.
“Not only will this help with commuter traffic in and out of the lab in the morning and in the evenings, this will also help the connection between the two communities of White Rock and the townsite,” he said. “This will really help, especially in the p.m., residents access N.M. 502 whether to go to Los Alamos or go outside the County. At the end of the day this will be a big safety improvement for the residents of Los Alamos County, also.”
The improvements planned as part of the project include addressing storm drainage by installing new piping and culverts, constructing new curbs and gutters and a new retaining wall to prevent flooding. Warning flashers, new traffic signals and lighting, and roadway signing and striping are also part of the project. There are five phases to the project and the final phase is expected to be completed in mid-November.
The project is still in phase one, which includes work on both sides of N.M. 4 – the north shoulder of N.M. 4 and the north shoulder of East Jemez Road. Medians, median islands are being removed, detour pavement is being added and the existing traffic signal is being removed and replaced with a temporary signal. Last fall, workers addressed the retaining wall and some of the storm drainage issues. Phase Two involves a new westbound and eastbound lane on East Jemez Road and a new southbound lane on N.M. 4, north of the intersection. The contractor will be building everything in parts. They will shift traffic to one side, building the other side, to keep traffic flowing without totally shutting down the intersection.
Star Paving out of Albuquerque is performing the work. While N.M. 4 is a state road, the project is being handled by the NNSA Field Office and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Chiri explained the project was born out of a settlement agreement between the New Mexico Environmental Department, the Department of Energy (DOE) and NNSA in response to the transuranic waste incident that occurred in 2014.
DOE and NNSA agreed to spend up to $12 million to improve the DOE-owned routes to ship transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, she said. An additional $3.9 million was allocated by NNSA to move the intersection upgrade forward and the project was bid at $7.5 million. In conjunction with the improvements to the intersection, the National Park Service is making improvements to the access road and parking area at Bandelier National Monument’s Tsankawi Unit. A new parking lot is being constructed and trails are being improved. Since accessing Tsankawi is in conflict with the intersection road work, the area will remain closed through October.
As far as impact to drivers, the speed limit in the construction area is reduced to 35 mph. A project spokesperson emphasized this is important to follow.
“It’s really important for people to follow that speed limit because going regular speed through a construction zone is never a good idea … we really do need people to slow down during construction,” the spokesperson said.
Based on modeling done by the lab, people need to plan for a 5-10 minute delay in the mornings and a 10-15 minute delay in the afternoons, LANL Transportation Director Jay Faught said. He said the times have been communicated to employees. There are alternative transportation options for people.
“We’ve been communicating to laboratory employees about what to expect during the various stages of construction and encouraging employees to share a ride through carpool, van pool or transit,” he explained.
Atomic City Transit is offering services along with New Mexico Park and Ride, Faught said, adding that LANL just launched a van pool program. He explained the lab is working with a New Mexico Department of Transportation contractor, Commute with Enterprise, to match up groups of people who live in the same area and have similar schedules to share rides. Furthermore, Faught said a bus pilot project will begin in May. Lab employees will be ferried on a shuttle bus from Cities of Gold Casino in Pojoaque to certain areas at the laboratory.
Chiri pointed out that a lot of traffic updates and information are posted on various social media sites, which just adds to large amount of communication being done for laboratory employees about this project. Chiri noted that people’s patience throughout the project is appreciated as well as treating construction workers with respect.
“We know it (construction) is an inconvenience, but we really believe the end result is going to make their commute much better and safer and we just appreciate patience,” she said.
Courtesy/NNSA Los Alamos Field Office
Courtesy/NNSA Los Alamos Field Office
