Work to slow traffic on Trinity Drive today, Friday

The installation of fiber optic lines will slow traffic on Trinity Drive today and Friday, a county spokeswoman said.

The lines are being installed under Trinity Drive, necessitating a shift of westbound vehicle traffic to the eastbound (southern) lanes of Trinity Drive, said Julie Habiger of Los Alamos County. There will be one lane of traffic in each direction on Trinity Drive with left turns restricted between Eighth Street near the entrance to the county government annex and 20th Street, she said.

No work is scheduled during peak morning commute times, but work will occur between 8:30 a.m. and 10 p.m., today and 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Signs and other detour messages and devices will be in place alerting motorists to the work. Motorists should seek alternate routes of travel during the work times, Habiger added.

For more information, call 662-8150.

Widening project begins Monday on West Jemez Road

A project to widen one mile of NM 501 (West Jemez Road) begins Monday (Nov. 3) near the intersections of Technical Area 16.

Twin Mountain Construction of Albuquerque is doing the work, which continues through May 2004.

The work involves building acceleration and deceleration lanes into TA-16, turning lanes and adding lighting, said Douglas Volkman of Utilities and Infrastructure (FWO-UI), project leader for the $2.1 million project. He noted that some work along the sides of West Jemez Road started this week, including relocating telephone and utility poles and removing trees.

Volkman said minor interruptions in traffic may occur during construction. There will be signs and other measures in place through the work area alerting motorists to the planned work.

Volkman said the work is being done to accommodate increased traffic in the TA-16 area as the Engineering Sciences and Applications (ESA) Division consolidates many of its operations to that technical area.

The posted speed limit on NM 501 in and around TA-15 and TA-16 is 45 miles per hour.

For more information, contact Volkman at 7-6238.

-- Steve Sandoval