La Cienega residents adjusting to rail project

Dennis J. Carroll | For The New Mexican

5/11/2008 - 5/12/08

Three-year-old Talia, barely knee-high to her grandfather, Larry Montoya, held up a notebook as she tried to tell him about all the homework she had to do.

Montoya, who lives with his wife, Judy, along the east Frontage Road of Interstate 25 just south of La Cienega exit, said it was Talia who reminded him that getting her home to Placitas in the evening wasn't going to be as easy as it used to be.

"They have pretty much boxed me in," said Montoya, a Santa Fe firefighter. He was referring to work on the state Rail Runner project; crews recently knocked down the La Cienega overpass so the commuter train can pass underneath, and have closed the East Frontage Road from the Waldo Exit north to the rest stop.

Karyn Lujan, a District 5 Department of Transportation spokeswoman, said the overpass was not tall enough to accomodate the train, so the road had to come down. And that it did starting May 2.

Assistant project director Nathan Carter said it he was amazed at how fast his crew could puliverize such a large structure, and acknowledged it could take a while for locals to adjust to the detours. "It will be rougher the first few days but (residents) who live in the area will learn to accommodate the change."

After destroying the overpass, workers blocked off what is now a giant hole in the road, but left open the northbound on-ramp and the southbound off-ramp.

That means residents and business owners along the west Frontage Road can use the exits and frontage road as normal into La Cienaga or to go north or south as they wish on the Frontage Road.

Now that the Waldo overpass is closed, those who live on the east Frontage Road across I-25 from La Cienega who want to go to Albuquerque, must travel about
6 miles north to the 276-B exit to N.M. 599, where they then double back south on the west Frontage Road or the interstate.

Montoya picks up Talia in the morning and takes her to La Cienega, where she spends the day with her grandmother. To do this, Montoya must drive north to N.M. 599. turn around and head back to Placitas, then drive all the way back up to N.M. 599 and turn around to head south along the east Frontage Road to his home. And, of course, he repeats this route when he takes Talia home in the evening.

It used to take him about 15 minutes to get his grandaughter; now it takes him about an hour.

"I have to drive past my house twice in one trip," Montoya said. "It doesn't affect me getting to work (in Santa Fe) but it affects every other aspect of my life."

At the offices of the Zia Factory Outlet mobile-home sales about a half-mile north of the La Cienega exit along the east Frontage Road, finance manager Connie Pacheco said that last Monday, several employees forgot about the rerouting and ended up dazed and confused trying to get to work.

"We'll have to adjust," Pacheco said.

Lujan said officials hope to have a new overpass open at La Cienega by the end of August.

• The La Cienega Overpass is closed. On/off ramps will be open during this time. Motorists can use west frontage road to N.M. 599 for access onto I-25; detour signs will be posted.
• Eastbound frontage road from Waldo Canyon to La Cienega is closed.
• I-25 at La Cienega will close intermittently in both directions from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.; traffic will be detoured through on/off ramps.
• The pedestrian Rail Trail will be closed for the next several months. The public is asked to avoid this area and seek an alternate route until further notice.
• One lane northbound and southbound will remain open at N.M. 14 under the I-25 bridge and at Straight Street.
• Right shoulders in both directions remain closed at Richards Avenue and N.M. 599.
• Flagmen are on site to guide motorists between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. as needed. Flagmen are also guiding motorists through various parts of Waldo Canyon Road during day and night shifts.
• Day-shift and night-shift work will consist of various left-lane drops on I-25 between the La Bajada rest area and St. Francis Drive and also on N.M. 599 at I-25 for various construction operations; motorists should obey posted speed limits and drive with caution.