The end is in sight for La Bajada traffic delays as hill stabilization project is almost done

May 22—Commuters making the journey on Interstate 25 between Santa Fe and Albuquerque can rejoice, as the majority of the La Bajada road construction is expected to wrap up next week.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation project to stabilize the hill began in July 2022, and the bulk of the project should wrap up next week, six months ahead of schedule, said NMDOT spokesperson Jim Murray. Contractor Mountain States Constructors had until November to complete the work.

The construction will cost an estimated $40 million and is relying on state and federal funds.

The roadwork has caused headaches for motorists who have faced long backups and traffic delays. But now workers are applying the finishing touches: a final layer of pavement — an open-graded friction course that seals the roadway and helps cars keep their traction.

For most of the project, the construction has been split between the northbound and southbound sides, keeping at least two lanes open to traffic, Murray said, but repaving has meant that both northbound and southbound traffic has been reduced to one lane at times over the past week.

Paving and guardrails will likely be completed by Thursday, if the weather holds. Striping still needs to be done.

The project stabilized the hillside, which is above multiple underground springs, Murray said. Workers drilled over 80 shafts with 10-foot diameters and depths of 20 to 24 feet, then filled the shafts with a soil-and-cement mixture.

Then drainage structures were replaced. The underground springs beneath the road have been hooked into the new drainage system, so the water is shuffled off-hill instead of percolating up and destroying bedrock beneath the interstate, Murray said.

"Everything was removed and redone from the ground up, or, in this case, under the ground," Murray said.

The project also expanded the southbound shoulder so it can be used as an additional lane in the future, if needed; added a 42-inch-high concrete barrier to separate northbound and southbound traffic; and installed a new Intelligent Telecommunication System infrastructure beneath the shoulder.

The concrete barriers do not have to be repaired as often and are safer for NMDOT employees working on the roadway, Murray said.

The new telecommunication system will handle data for the camera that NMDOT has near the Cochiti overpass facing southbound and will allow for better cameras to be installed and monitor the hill in both directions, Murray said.

Although the finish line is near, the project isn't complete yet. Until the work is done, motorists really need to obey the speed limit, Murray said.