CITY COUNCILORS HEAR SAFETY, ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS FOR I-40
By Sunni Battin
Sun Correspondent
Big changes could be coming to the Gallup east/west Interstate 40 interchange in the near future. Those potential changes were shared in a presentation to the Gallup City Council at their March 25 meeting. The possible changes are the results of a study that is looking at two exits, 16 coming in from Arizona and 26, off the interchange of I-40 and New Mexico 118.
“Each is being studied separately and each will have its own study report prepared for it,” David Wilson, of Bohannan Huston, an engineering firm tasked with gathering the data, explained.
RECAPPING THE STUDY
In his presentation, Wilson noted that the project first began in 2022 when the legislature allocated $25 million for local governments to apply for funds to help improve access for their community. The study is being led by the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments, along with the City of Gallup and McKinley County, and in coordination with the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
The main focus of the study is to assess the current situation, determine needs, and pinpoint and develop possible proposed solutions. Normally, a project of this magnitude would take 18 months, with Wilson noting the current process is “very fast paced” due to the June funding deadline.
Referred to as Phase A, the data gathering started last fall, stakeholder meetings were held in December and January, and preliminary proposals for solutions happened in February and March. For Phase B, public and stakeholder meetings are occurring in April and May and the final report of both phases is due in June.
“I think safety-wise it will be a benefit to Gallup,” City Manager Frank Chiapetti said.
The west interchange was reconstructed in the mid-1990s while the east interchange was built in 1980. Some of the deficiencies for both include a lack of sidewalks and bicycle facilities. For exit 16, the eastbound on ramp loop has slow acceleration going up with a lot of truck traffic. In addition, there has been data suggesting it’s a hotspot for wipes and vehicle rear ends as cars are often pumping acceleration and this can be potentially problematic when behind a truck.
Councilor Ron Molina, Dist. 4, says Exit 16 is “not bad.”
“It’s got the long entrance ramps into the interstate which is helpful. However, one of the main problems is exiting left off the interstate,” he said.
SOLVING THE ISSUE
Some of the potential solutions Wilson mentioned during his presentation included improving the radius and creating two lanes for the on ramp for the loop with the end goal being “to keep trucks on the outside and allow cars on the inside.”
There would still be full acceleration lanes but the 118 exit and railroad bridges would need to be widened which would then permit cars to reach full speed and keep it separated from the trucks. Another possible solution is to get rid of the loop and have a more traditional ramp in the northeast corner.
Molina believes the study will be beneficial. He said the east side interchange is “a tough one because it’s right up against the bridge.”
“It’s my opinion that exit ought to be moved over further East completely,” he said.
Wilson mentioned in his presentation that the east interchange at exit 26 has physical limitations with the river, railroad, and gilded diamond shape.
“One of the concerns with that shape is it does lend itself potentially to wrong way injuries,” Wilson said.
Another concern is tight loop ramps.
Possible alternatives discussed were keeping the shape but updating deficiencies by widening the current bridge or building a new structure by it. Another proposed solution is to shift exit 118 and go under I-40 which would “lessen the span” over the bridge on 118 as well as the railroad track and river and may not go over 118. Another idea was to offset the loop with one signal back to exit 118 for a more conventional shape. In this scenario, there would be a loop which would also have a 30 mph sign and there would also be some upgrades to the bridge structure.
No construction funds thus far have been given to this project.
For more information, updates, and all potential solutions: http://gallupi40eastwest.com.
