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I don't think so/don't know of any. Certainly nothing is likely for the foreseeable future. Even the Paseo Interchange project doesn't look like it will happen any time soon.
The way I see it realistically you can either build more bridges or encourage more employment growth on the Westside and hope more people who live there will also then work there.
Expanding existing public transportation or building light rail really don't seem like viable options in the real world or, in the case of light rail, in having enough public and official support.
With all that being said, more bridges also don't seem likely given all the opposition from people who live in the valley to them.
So employment growth on the Westside seems the only real answer, but that won't be easy either or likely to happen very soon.
Therefore, cross-river traffic headaches don't seem likely to be alleviated any time soon.
I'll add that I'm one of those rare people in this city who needs to 'commute' to the Westside from the east for most things I need. Most of the grocery and other stores I frequent nearest me are west of the river. I have to travel to Coors and I-40, Coors and Central, Atrisco and Central, and also all along Isleta Boulevard, Bridge Boulevard and Rio Bravo Boulevard from here in Barelas to reach most of the places I need to go in any given month.
I live near the Barelas Bridge and I see how many cars stream across it in both directions every day. The same is true at the Old Town Bridge. I'm convinced the reason is that many who live on this side of the river near Downtown see themselves in the same position as me in having to go across the river for many things they need.
Aside from work on the I-25/Paseo interchange, are there any other concrete plans in sight for alleviating the traffic issues going West to East?
East/West travel will always be a problem. The Rio Grande is in the way, difficult to cross, build across, by the nature of population around the river people don't want and more roads bridges in their area, etc... Bernalillo County acquired land at the west end of Montaño Road for a future Rio Grande river crossing in the 50's, design began in the 1980’s and it was opened in 1997.
I-25/Paseo interchange has not received funding.
I-25 Paseo del Norte Interchange Study (http://www.i25pdn.com/i25pdnhome.html - broken link)
North I-25 Corridor Project Website (http://www.i25pdn.com/ - broken link)
Welcome to the website specifically developed for the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) projects being conducted to identify improvement alternatives for I-25 and Paseo del Norte and adjacent sections of I-25. The projects are referred to as:
I-25/Paseo del Norte Interchange Study, San Mateo/Osuna Interchange to Tramway Interchange; 2nd Street to Wyoming Boulevard, NMDOT Project: MGS-025-4(127)233, CN D3026
North I-25 Freeway Operations Study, Comanche Interchange to San Mateo/Osuna interchange, NMDOT Project TPA-TPU-025-4(122)228, CN D3018
Funds to implement the I-25/Paseo del Norte Interchange project are not available and have not been identified. It is anticipated that the project will be implemented in logical phases as funding sources are identified based on the amount that becomes available...
Another barrier on the west side is the escarpment and petroglyphs. Work is underway in the Unser/Universe area to help out with some of the far west side access. The far west side has a lot of incomplete construction and roads that are obviously intended to be widened -- someday. There are lots of places where roads widen and narrow and widen again and do odd things just because they are in suspended stages of improvement.
Dh and I were in 'Burque looking for houses. We had an appt to meet folks for dinner in RR. We used our 'trusty' GPS which led us from our hotel in the Journal Park area onto Jefferson at around 5:20pm then west onto Paseo del Norte. What a headache: stop and go, stop and go; I was telling myself... maybe I don't want to live here..... It took forever. I wondered first why the GPS had directed us to go that way since it was so crowded. I'm going to be looking for alternate ways to get into RR from 25 next time! Surely there has to be some other road to enter into RR.
Dh and I were in 'Burque looking for houses. We had an appt to meet folks for dinner in RR. We used our 'trusty' GPS which led us from our hotel in the Journal Park area onto Jefferson at around 5:20pm then west onto Paseo del Norte. What a headache: stop and go, stop and go; I was telling myself... maybe I don't want to live here..... It took forever. I wondered first why the GPS had directed us to go that way since it was so crowded. I'm going to be looking for alternate ways to get into RR from 25 next time! Surely there has to be some other road to enter into RR.
It's better just to live and work on the same side of the river rather than trying to cross every day. We did the crossing daily commute for a few years and it gets old very quickly. Now we only cross the river if we really need to (which is rare), and during off-peak hours. Overall traffic is very easy in Albuquerque.
I'm going to be looking for alternate ways to get into RR from 25 next time! Surely there has to be some other road to enter into RR.
You picked the absolute worst time to try to go that way. Alameda Ave. is another worthwhile contender; many people argue it is far slower but they've never taken a stopwatch to it; what you lose in speed you make up for in direct reckoning (Paseo is almost 45 degrees off of the direction you want to travel when RR is the destination, while Alameda's spot-on).
Traffic (or at least the broader "Travel Time") is the #1 reason I'd never want to move to Rio Rancho. If I didn't work, want anything, or know anybody east of the river that may not be the case, but I doubt that even 5% of Rio Rancho residents are that way. At least the majority of the bottlenecked state roads are paid for (at least in part) by Rio Rancho taxpayers.
You picked the absolute worst time to try to go that way. Alameda Ave. is another worthwhile contender; many people argue it is far slower but they've never taken a stopwatch to it; what you lose in speed you make up for in direct reckoning (Paseo is almost 45 degrees off of the direction you want to travel when RR is the destination, while Alameda's spot-on).
Traffic (or at least the broader "Travel Time") is the #1 reason I'd never want to move to Rio Rancho. If I didn't work, want anything, or know anybody east of the river that may not be the case, but I doubt that even 5% of Rio Rancho residents are that way. At least the majority of the bottlenecked state roads are paid for (at least in part) by Rio Rancho taxpayers.
Alas you are correct Senor! Since we don't know Albuquerque very well at all, we allowed our trusty GPS to guide us and it didn't do a very good job that day! We are learning........
Seems the "smartest" thing to do is... Turn Paseo del Norte into a freeway, or if that can't happen at least make it look like one, no lights, no hassles.. It would work since the city has a plan for Paseo and I-25. A better flow, I say..
If I didn't work, want anything, or know anybody east of the river that may not be the case, but I doubt that even 5% of Rio Rancho residents are that way. At least the majority of the bottlenecked state roads are paid for (at least in part) by Rio Rancho taxpayers.
Hey y'all, as all of you know the I-25/Paseo Del Norte interchange is undergoing a reconstruction project. From what I've seen from the final computer rendering, it'll still be a diamond interchange (unlike I-40 and Coors Blvd.) but will feature a new design to help ease congestion. For one thing there will be a flyover ramp going from northbound I-25 to westbound Paseo Del Norte, a cloverleaf ramp going from WB Paseo to SB I-25, and the Paseo Del Norte Jefferson intersection will be an SPUI interchange. Anyways, I have questions regarding the new interchange.
1. Beginning with this project, is NM finally moving away from the horizontal traffic lights to the vertical lights? From what I saw in the computer rendering, the traffic lights are mounted vertically instead of horizontally.
2. Are the new signs going to be in Clearview font or is NM still sticking with Highway Gothic Series E(M)? I've posted on another thread about possible first Clearview signs in the state (while there are Clearview signs found in Los Alamos and Rio Rancho, the highways are still using FHWA Series E(M))
3. Will I-25 through most of Albuquerque be widened to 8-10 lanes (4-5 in each direction)? I-40 is mostly 8 lanes through Albuquerque. However, I-25 has more traffic since it covers the entire metro area, and because it gets backed up more than I-40 does, it should be widened to 8 lanes.
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I-25 Paseo Del Norte Reconstruction
