Road Warrior: I-25 work near Colorado line slated to finish next summer

Sep. 23—Happy Monday.

We're less than two weeks away from Balloon Fiesta, and the New Mexico Department of Transportation is reminding motorists of the improvements project taking place between Montgomery and Comanche on Interstate 25.

During the Fiesta, according to NMDOT:

All three travel lanes in both directions will be open.

Travel lanes will be shifted toward the median.

Comanche Road will be reduced to one lane in each direction at the I-25 interchange.

Drivers are advised to allow for extra time when passing through the work zone.

Work may occur, "but will not impact the traveling public."

Work is expected to be completed in 2027, the same year another project is slated to get started.

recently hosted a public meeting to discuss the I-25 Gibson Interchange Construction Project. Improvements are scheduled to take place between Sunport Boulevard, Avenida Cesar Chavez and the Gibson interchange.

NMDOT District 3 spokesperson Kim Gallegos said the goals are to update aging infrastructure, enhance safety and improve efficiency.

Work is slated to start in 2027.

A public comment period began Tuesday and will last until Oct. 18. For more information or to fill out an online comment form, visit .

BRIDGE WORK: Phase two of the Bridge Boulevard reconstruction project began on Sept. 16. Work is taking place from Young Avenue to the Barelas Bridge.

Bernalillo County spokesperson Melissa Smith said on Sept. 9 that La Vega Drive was expected to be closed at Bridge for about two weeks to allow underground utilities to be installed across the intersection and for construction. Traffic will be rerouted south to Hardy Avenue then to Isleta Boulevard.

is conducting a mill and inlay project on Tramway from Roy Road at the roundabout to a mile past Sandia Casino.

Gallegos said work, which is scheduled for 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, is expected to be finished by late October.

RATON PASS WORK: Robert Alexander asked about the status of the reconstruction/rehabilitation project on Interstate 25 from Raton to the Colorado line.

"I seriously cannot remember (the) last time that four lanes of traffic were open and only once in my last few trips have I seen any work being performed at all," he said. "What gives? Why is the work taking so long? The lane closures there have been an impediment to traffic flow for years."

The wait will soon come to an end.

NMDOT District 4 spokesperson Travis Martinez said the project, which began in 2018, is in the last phase. This stage consists of reconstruction and rehabilitation work, drainage improvements, new guardrail installation, placement of new permanent traffic control signs and striping.

Martinez said work is scheduled to be completed next summer.

n eastbound lane from Academy Road to La Madera will be closed so a sidewalk can be replaced. The closure will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 30 to Oct. 7, according to the city.

ccording to data from NMDOT and the University of New Mexico, traffic fatalities across the state dropped about 9.5% from 284, through the first eight months of 2023, to 257, as of August this year.

Of the 257 fatalities in 2024, 80 — or about 31% — of those happened in Bernalillo County. The next highest number is 19 in Doña Ana County.