A $68 million state Highway Department project underway includes renovations to Highway 84/285 between Pojoaque and Española that include re-paving and drains, new medians and a frontage road system. The project is being built in five phases, the last of which will be completed no sooner than 2011. Costs for each phase include construction contracts of $8 million or more, plus land acquisition and design costs, according to documents. Federal stimulus funds are paying for much of the project.
According to highway plans and information provided by Department spokeswoman Karyn Lujan, major changes to the highway include:
• On South Riverside Drive, from the intersection with Santa Clara Bridge Road to Cottonwood RV Park, raised medians will replace the continuous left-turn center lane. A new traffic light will be added at the intersection with Upper San Pedro Road. The medians will include turn-offs at the following locations:
— Valley Superette, north and southbound turns
— Henry Gallegos Motors, north and southbound turns
— Zia Credit Union, north and southbound turns
— Signalized intersection with both north and southbound turns at Upper San Pedro Road
— No turn lanes at the Española Valley Eagles Club, but a median opening will provide southbound highway access
— Red Hawk Court, southbound turn only
— Western Holiday Inn, northbound turns only
— Cottonwood RV Park, north and southbound turns
The work in Española, north of the intersection of Highway 84/285 and State Roads 106 and 399 (Dreamcatcher Theater intersection), started in May and is scheduled to be complete by June 2010. Star Paving is doing the work for $7.99 million. The work includes.
— Signalized intersection at Santa Clara Bridge Road
• Work at the Dreamcatcher Theater intersection to the Cottonwood RV Park started in November 2008 and is scheduled to conclude in November of this year. The work is being done by Northern Mountain Constructors for $9 million.
The intersection at State Roads 106 and 399, by the Dreamcatcher Cinema, will be removed and replaced by another intersection 200 feet farther south. Drivers will still have access to and from the highway and State Roads 106 and 399 at that intersection.
• Work south of the Dreamcatcher Theater in Arroyo Seco to the Pojoaque Pueblo boundary has not begun but has an estimated cost of over $20 million.
— The frontage roads will start at intersections with State Roads 106 and 399 and head south through Arroyo Seco. The frontage roads will have highway access at State Roads 106 and 399, at a new intersection at Camino Arroyo Seco, at a redesigned intersection at La Puebla Road and at a new interchange within Pojoaque Pueblo’s northern boundary, near milepost 183.