Jul. 7—The year is about half over. Where did it go?
Let’s kick off the second half with an update on a busy West Side intersection.
‘A REAL NICE INTERSECTION’: The city of Albuquerque recently finished work at the 98th and Gibson SW intersection that includes adding a four-way traffic signal, new street lights, a rectangular rapid flashing beacon, signalized left-turn lanes and making American with Disabilities Act pedestrian improvements.
“It’s a real nice intersection now,” Department of Municipal Development spokesperson Dan Mayfield said. “(The improvements) should help traffic go a lot smoother through there and cut down on crashes.”
‘IDAHO STOP’ IN EFFECT: A law allowing bicyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs went into effect in the Land of Enchantment on July 1.
Earlier in the year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed Senate Bill 73 — also known as the “Idaho Stop” — into law. Under the new rules:
At stop signs, cyclists may slow down, yield as necessary, and proceed through the intersection if it is safe — without coming to a full stop.At red lights, cyclists must come to a complete stop but may proceed through the intersection if the way is clear and it is safe to do so.
“This change recognizes the differences between bicycles and cars at intersections and allows cyclists to navigate safely and predictably,” NMDOT Active Transportation Planner Elsa Goossen said in a statement.
GILA BRIDGE REPLACEMENT: Gila National Forest is working with the Federal Highway Administration to replace the 66-year-old South Fork Negrito Creek bridge on Forest Road 141.
The bridge was built in 1959 and is past its 50-year design life, according to the FHWA.
Due to the bridge replacement, a 4.5-mile segment of Forest Road 141 and South Fork Campground will be closed through September, “unless the project is completed sooner,” U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Maribeth Pecotte said in a news release.
People can take the following alternate routes:
Forest Road 94 (Cox Canyon Road) from Apache Creek to Catron County Road 28 (Bursum Road — north end): This is the main designated detour, she said.Catron County Road 28 at Horse Springs, passing through Y-Canyon to Forest Road 94.N.M. 159 from U.S. 180 north of Glenwood to the Willow Creek area: “This is a narrow, rocky road that may be suitable for high clearance vehicles,” Pecotte said.Forest Road 153 (Deep Creek Divide) to Forest Road 180 (Corner Mountain Road) to Forest Road 119 is only suitable for high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicles.
The U.S. Forest Service received reports of people driving off Forest Road 141 through the bar ditch and back onto the road, bypassing the posted road closed signage, “only to find the road impassable at the bridge construction zone a short distance ahead,” Pecotte said.
Penalties for violating the closure may require an appearance in federal court and up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
THREADING THE COUNTRY TOGETHER: On July 11, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Aid Road Act, launching the Federal-aid highway program.
“I take a great deal of pleasure in signing this bill and having a part in the good work that has been done, particularly because it tends to thread the various parts of the country together and assists the farmer in his intercourse with others,” he said.
The act “set the stage for today’s U.S. highway system and subsequent measures that have likewise supported and strengthened that national network,” according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.