Albuquerque Journal, N.M., D’Val Westphal column [Albuquerque Journal, N.M.]

Sept. 20--PASEO GETS ITS BARRIER WALL STARTING TODAY: An e-mail alert from the New Mexico Department of Transportation says eastbound Paseo del Norte will lose its two right lanes between the river and Rio Grande Boulevard this week for "barrier wall installation."

And while that promises to put a choke on nonpeak traffic, local bicyclists will likely welcome the closure.

That's because while the alert doesn't give any more detail, this is the same area where back on March 22, a driver swerved off the high-speed limitedaccess highway just west of the Rio Grande overpass, drove over a dirt embankment, through a wire fence and across a bike trail, where cyclist David Anderson was riding with his wife.

Anderson was killed. A "ghost bike" memorial marks the spot.

And after work this week, so will a $54,000, 450-foot concrete barrier.

The closures are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every weekday but Thursday.

WHAT'S WITH THE GROOVES TO TIJERAS? That's what Bruce Moffitt wants to know.

He says in an e-mail that "on Interstate 40 eastbound, for a couple miles before the Tijeras turn-off, there were grooves dug into the roadbed where the white stripes should be. I was under the impression that these were to be filled with some kind of matrix that would serve as striping, and that the road would be returned to level.

"Recently, someone has come though and painted the bottom of the grooves, but the grooves are still there. These grooves, parallel to the flow of traffic, are a serious hazard to a motorcycle, and if the road is rain-slicked, they could unexpectedly drop a rider like a sack of potatoes. If the slide didn't kill him, the traffic behind him probably would. This is so egregious a hazard it would not take the brightest lawyer in the pack to cost the taxpayer another few million due to rampant incompetence in our transport people. Please tell me that this is only a very temporary measure, and that these grooves will be filled in very soon. I have ridden motorcycles a lot, and something like this sends chills up my spine."

He adds that "winter approaches, nothing has been done" and that stretch is a real hazard.

NMDOT apparently agrees the grooves may be too deep.

Phil Gallegos, who handles information for NMDOT District 3, says "it appears that the pavement markings, which are supposed to be inlaid in the concrete or asphalt pavement sections, may, in some areas, not meet the pavement-marking manufacturer's recommendations pertaining to depth. We are working with the contractor on an acceptable corrective action for these areas."

WHY ARE WE GOING SLOWER ON NORTH 14? Nancy says NMDOT recently changed the speed limit signs on N.M. 14 from 50 mph down to 45 mph between mile markers 2 and 5 -- around the Sierra Vista subdivision.

And she says drivers have been taken by surprise -- especially since law enforcement is now running radar enforcement on that stretch.

So what gives?

Gallegos says "a recent traffic study determined that sight distance was a factor and the addition of more driveways made it necessary to reduce the speed."

CHANCES ARE YOU'LL WRECK EVERY 9.9 YEARS: That's according to the latest Allstate America's Best Drivers Report.

Albuquerque came in at 71, in the top half of the 200 cities the insurance giant studied. An analysis of internal claims data shows Duke City drivers are a little worse off than the average American driver, who will wreck every 10 years.

The place to live to avoid vehicle wrecks? According to Allstate, it's Fort Collins, Colo., which ranked No. 1 and where drivers are involved in crashes every 14.5 years.

Assistant editorial page editor D'Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the Metro area on Mondays and West Siders and Rio Ranchoans on Thursdays. Reach her at 823-3858; road@ abqjournal.com; P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103; or go to abqjournal.com/traffic to read previous columns and join in the conversation.

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