NMDOT proposes stopgap solution for deadly Rio Rancho corridor

RIO RANCHO — Following months of waiting, a temporary solution has been proposed to reduce accidents at a deadly stretch of highway in Rio Rancho.

New Mexico Department of Transportation officials spoke publicly last week about a traffic study on the NM 528 and Pasilla-Riverside roads. But during a Dec. 18 Rio Rancho Governing Body meeting, council members and Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull questioned the proposal.

The meeting came following a letter from Rep. Alan Martinez, R-Rio Rancho, to N.M. Transportation Secretary Ricky Serna calling the delays of the study's release unacceptable. Serna called for a traffic study in June, when Martinez invited him to a town hall that saw residents sound off on the dangers of the intersection. In October 2024, a local couple was killed in a car accident crossing the intersection to get home.

With input from an external consulting group, NMDOT found that a traffic signal is not warranted at the intersection, agency engineer Greg Clarke said during the meeting.

NMDOT, however, suggests an interim solution, which includes installing intersection delineators to eliminate left turns out of Pasilla and Riverside roads onto NM 528, he said. New stop signs should be added to Pasilla and Riverside along with additional pavement markings, according to a draft proposal. Speed cameras before and after the intersection are proposed, but those need NMDOT approval, the proposal and Clarke said. NMDOT plans to monitor the intersection and recount traffic volume from six months to one year to see if the measures have been effective, according to the proposal and Clarke.

"We're trying to increase safety as much as we can with these interim solutions," Clarke said during the meeting. "I call them 'interim' because, ultimately, there could be a signal sometime down the road. It could be five (or) 10 years from now, whenever the warrants are met during the week."

Clarke said the study has been underway for several months with a California-based firm, Parametrix. It conducted a signal warrant analysis, which found that in October, the annual average daily traffic for NM 528 is 21,513 vehicles per day. The firm also found that traffic on the weekend - but not weekdays - justifies further study on the need for a traffic signal.

City reaction

Hull pointed out during the meeting that Rio Rancho cannot unilaterally install speed cameras at the intersection and must go to the State Transportation Commission for approval. Clarke confirmed this, noting the cameras are going through an approval process at this time. He also said the challenges with the intersection have nothing to do with speeding.

District 6 Councilor Nicole List, whose constituents live in the area of the intersection, thanked NMDOT for holding the June town hall but said information provided on the city's authority was "extremely inaccurate and very, very unfair."

"I want my people to understand while there's a hiccup on your side - and I'm not trying to throw you under the bus - the city has diligently been trying to do this, and I want all of our staffers to know we know you have been diligently doing this, and I appreciate you," List said. 

She asked if NMDOT took into consideration drivers having to do a U-turn near a fire station. Clarke responded it may require further analysis.

List also said her constituents will "hold you to it" that a traffic signal will be installed at the intersection several years from now.

"Plan accordingly or be prepared to defend the 'Why not?'" List said. 

Clarke responded that he understood her concern, but a signal would only be installed once it was warranted. 

District 3 Councilor Bob Tyler was not convinced NMDOT's plan would help.

"I don't think ... all this little fluff you guys are putting on the road is going to solve anything," Tyler said. 

He stated his belief that NMDOT "passed the buck" in proposing to install delineators and forcing drivers to make U-turns at another intersection.

"Now that intersection is going to become the problem," Tyler said. "I think there needs to be a better plan. I don't care what all of your traffic studies say; I think these people deserve a stoplight there."

Clarke reiterated the study's finding that the signal warrant was on weekends and not on weekdays.

Tyler responded he thought a traffic light that works on the weekends and blinks on weekdays would work.

"I think that's kind of cool," he said, "and that gets us somewhere. To heck with all the fluff."

Hull said while he understood NMDOT's findings on a signal, he is worried the stopgap proposal "exacerbates the situation."

He went on to say he was "nervous" about drivers having to make U-turns and he also questioned the new pavement stripes, stating he believes overtime, drivers will ignore them.

Hull closed by thanking NMDOT, stating "we're going to bring that human side into (the discussion) because that's the side we're going to get from our constituents."

"The only data they see is a car full of dead people - and that's all they need to see and that's all we need to see," Hull said. "Some of our neighbors are no longer with us."

List also asked how NMDOT would continue to work on intersection improvements even as Serna's term is set to expire.

Clarke responded that he "hopes to be around," but so will other NMDOT staff as well as Hilma Chynoweth, District 3 commissioner for the State Transportation Commission.

Clarke agreed to hold another town hall meeting on the same proposal he shared with the governing body on Dec. 18. He said NMDOT officials would meet with Martinez in January.

Post-meeting response

Martinez attended the Dec. 18 council meeting but was not invited to speak. In an interview afterward, he said he thinks NMDOT's proposal will be ineffective. 

"The fact that these are knock-down poles - people are going to be knocking down those poles every day," said Martinez, who would like to see a stoplight at the intersection.

Rio Rancho Fire & Rescue Chief James Wenzel said in a prepared statement following the meeting that his department and the council share "valid concerns" regarding the proposed changes. 

"Any alteration to roadway access must carefully consider emergency response access and overall connectivity," Wenzel wrote. "I look forward to further discussion with the DOT so we can work collaboratively toward an appropriate solution that ensures our apparatus and crews can continue to provide a high level of safety to the community."

The Rio Rancho Police Department said in a prepared statement it has nothing further to add beyond what was stated during the council meeting.

Clarke said in response to concerns brought up at the meeting that NMDOT does not "take things lightly" and "safety is paramount to us."

NMDOT spokesperson Kristine Bustos-Mihelcic said following the council meeting that her agency is working to schedule a town hall meeting to discuss the proposal with the community.

Anyone with questions or concerns to NMDOT can contact the agency at dot.nm.gov/contact-us/.