North Fourth Street between Ortega and Alameda will soon be on a road diet.
Bernalillo County will host a public meeting on Tuesday to gather input on a road diet reconstruction project along historic Fourth Street in the North Valley.
The proposed construction will reduce the traveling lanes to one lane in each direction with a continuous two-way left-turn lane from Ortega Road to Alameda Boulevard. It will also include the addition of bike lanes, curbs and gutters and a sidewalk.
Fourth Street crosses four intersections: Ortega Road, Homeland Road, St. Francis Road and Alameda Boulevard and the daily traffic count of vehicles is about 7,400 vehicles a day. Additionally, Ortega Road and Fourth Street saw 18 pedestrians and 20 bicycles during a 13-hour count period and Alameda saw 43 walkers and 27 bicycles during the count period.
The benefits of the project include a reduction of rear-end and left-turn crashes due to the addition of a left turn lane, fewer traffic lanes for pedestrians to cross and the installation of pedestrian refuge islands, bicycle lanes and transit stops. A storm drain system will also be constructed from Paseo del Norte to St. Francis Road.
The Village of Los Ranchos is currently developing a $8.9 million section of its Fourth Street reconstruction. This phase of the Village plans will go from Pueblo Solano to Ranchitos Road. The Village’s next phase will go from Ranchitos to the Village limits slightly north of Ortega. The overall Los Ranchos Fourth Street design matches the county’s plans with one lane each way, a dedicated turn lane down the middle, bike lanes and pedestrian walkways.
The meeting will begin with an open house at 5:30 p.m. on February 27 at the Raymond G. Sanchez Community Center, 9800 Fourth St. NW. There is a presentation and Q-and-A at 6 p.m. Questions or comments can be submitted to Bernalillo County associate engineer, Gary Moreno-Ulibarri at gmulibarri@bernco.gov by March 12.