The Long, Thin Parking Lot
by John Weckerle
Once again, we’d like to heap a little kudos – or perhaps something else – onto the traffic management whizzes at the New Mexico Department of Transportation. I’ve had the pleasure of driving to Albuquerque mid-morning twice this week. Tuesday, we hopped on I-40 at the Sedillo on-ramp, and within about a quarter mile – just far enough so it couldn’t be seen from the bridge at Sedillo Hill – traffic slowed to a stop, and proceeded to move slowly; I think we topped out at about 20 mph before eventually reaching the end of the tie-up just west of Tijeras. That’s about a six-mile backup, and it wasn’t even rush hour. We were nearly half an hour late for our meeting as a result. The problem? I-40 westbound through the construction is limited to one lane, and – once again – NMDOT has created a major traffic flow problem and has not posted a sign at the Sedillo entrance.
I took Route 66 eastbound mid-morning yesterday and, except for some traffic approaching Tijeras, found it to be the better way to go. Eastbound at rush hour, the difference between taking Route 66 and I-40 seemed less pronounced; traffic was slow on both roads approaching Tijeras, but evened out on I-40 after that. Of course, NMRoads.com is malfunctioning at present, so we can’t get updated information for you this morning. For now, we’re recommending taking Route 66 going west, which at least allows the option of turning around and heading back to an I-40 on-ramp if it’s really backed up. We’d also like to suggest that the NMDOT consider placing signs at entrance ramps BEFORE traffic tie-ups so that drivers can seek alternative routes.