Drivers brace for U.S. 84/285 face-lift

Northern New Mexico drivers who can remember the construction work on U.S. 84/285 of summers past should steel themselves for more.

[Chimayo Mesa Views]

That section of road isn't broken. Why are we fixing it?

[pablo]

Not Broken? You must not drive it everyday. definetly NEEDS Improvements.

[DocMo]

While the DOT is at it..I wish the'd finally do a professional job of smoothing out the teeth-jarring dips and bumps at several of the bridges on 84/285 from Santa Fe to Pojoaque, where the bridge section was poorly connected with the rest of the road at the time of those "improvements". What a patch job!
It's hard on your car, and actually dangerous!:(

Never mind frontage roads...one of the things that'll help reduce accidents the most on the Poj-Esp stretch, is the closing of the liquor store.

[if one writes]

a bad check at that liquor store one won't be able to purchase there again, that might put a tiny dent in that problem.

[Rita_S]

I drove 84/285 during the 2002 construction and it was a nightmare. Good luck to those of you who have to drive through this one.

[How about timing]

What is the deal with the new lights and having to stop and almost everyone of them? Give me a break!
And what is with the new light north of the Nambe turn-off? Does that light provide access to one of Ben Lujan's friends or relatives?

[Ambro]

I wonder if they`re going to use those silly animal pictures on the walls? Lame.

[Myles Horton Lives]

All these projections of future vehicles per day are ridiculous, based on silly assumptions about population growth and energy prices.

[Jarhead]

DocMo wrote:

While the DOT is at it..I wish the'd finally do a professional job of smoothing out the teeth-jarring dips and bumps at several of the bridges on 84/285 from Santa Fe to Pojoaque, where the bridge section was poorly connected with the rest of the road at the time of those "improvements". What a patch job!
It's hard on your car, and actually dangerous!:(
Never mind frontage roads...one of the things that'll help reduce accidents the most on the Poj-Esp stretch, is the closing of the liquor store.

DocMo, you hit it on the head. I've driven all over the US and never have I seen such poor road construction. In Louisiana, where there's a bridge every quarter mile, you never feel the transition between the main road and the bridge. In NM, it's one bang-bang after another. What the hell kind of DOT would sign off on such shoddy work? It's almost as if they deliberately offset the bridge by six inches. I thought when they rebuilt 84/285 a few years back it might improve; but no, brand new bridge: huge bump! I've got a sneaky feeling some construction companys paid off a lot of NM-DOT inspectors with liquor and rifles....

[Chimayo Mesa Views]

Actually I do drive it everyday. I've seen this movie before so I know that the cure will be much worse than the disease.

[Reality]

I have low expectations. But I am hoping that this means they will remove that eyesore they have built at the beginning of the "scenic" High Road -- the pile of huge concrete barriers at the intersection of 84/285 and 503.

Maybe the eyesore will move north???

It took an incredibly long time to build that single mile. Let's again hope that this construction goes a little faster.