Interstate construction at La Bajada in final stages
May 14—Construction crews are in the final stages on a nearly two-year project to stabilize Interstate 25 on La Bajada.
The project is "right on schedule," New Mexico Department of Transportation spokesman Jim Murray said Tuesday, and drivers can expect construction work at La Bajada to be "substantially completed" by the end of the month.
On Tuesday, crews could be seen taking up sections of newly paved roadway in the northbound lanes, which Murray said was a planned step in the construction process to allow crews to seal the interstate with a layer of sealant. The work limited traffic to one lane on Tuesday, with travel delays of up to a half-hour at midday.
"A project like that has a coat that goes over the top when it's completed," Murray said. "Right now, that's what they're doing, they have to take up a quarter-inch of [the pavement] to put the sealant layer down."
Crews planned to complete the same steps for several days on southbound lanes on Wednesday, he said, and painting stripes would come after.
The project, which involved burying concrete columns underneath about two miles of the interstate to stabilize the roadway along the climb up the steep hill at La Bajada, has rung in at about $40 million, according to recent statements from the department.
The project was initially forecast to be completed by November, but Murray said recently work is expected to be done ahead of schedule and under budget.
