Drivers headed through Española’s main street can expect congested traffic through mid-November, due to construction on blue bus stops.
Certain lanes along a three-mile stretch of Riverside Drive, between La Joya Street and El Llano Road, will continue to close daily between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., according to a Sept. 23 North Central Regional Transit District news release. The District is upgrading nine bus stops to make them more accessible for disabled people and to add new shelters and signs.
The work started Tuesday and will continue “approximately 45 days,” the release states. Albuquerque-based H.O. Construction has a deadline of Nov. 23 to complete the project.
In 2015, the intersection of Riverside Drive and State Road 76 saw more than 21,000 cars each day, according to state Department of Transportation data. City of Española Planning Director Patrick Nicholson said as many as 65,000 now drive through Riverside on a daily basis.
The original timeline called for work to finish in June, but the District had to request bids from contractors a total of three times, after officials broke federal law in negotiations with an Española construction company.
“This is our third time at trying to get this project awarded,” District Executive Director Anthony Mortillaro told the Board of Directors, Sept. 9. “And hopefully, all the Ts are crossed and all the Is are dotted.”
The Board unanimously awarded the $120,984 contract to H.O. Construction and set a maximum budget of $171,966.34, including sales tax, contingency funds and project management fees.
The Department granted $165,000 to the District for the work. Any expenses above that will be paid for by the District, so long as the Board gives prior approval to use more money from sales tax revenue.