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There is still over a year to go, but the long-awaited Jarales Road rail viaduct project is moving forward.
The need for a bridge – a separate slope – over the triple track on the rural route has been a topic of discussion for decades. The level crossing, located about three kilometers south of the town of Belen, is often blocked by long freight trains.
In a virtual meeting last Thursday to brief the community on the project, Sandra Chavez, a project development engineer with the New Mexico Department of Transportation, said an average of 90 trains per day pass through the crossing, some nearly three kilometers long.
Trains blocking the intersection cause delays for motorists, farmers getting to their fields and emergency vehicles responding to calls.
The ministry has started purchasing the property it needs near the crossing for the new roadway and bridge right-of-way. The environmental study is due to be completed in October, along with 60% of the design work.
Chavez estimated that the final design would be completed in late spring or early summer 2022, with construction of the bridge scheduled to begin in the summer or fall of that year.
Edward Cordova, senior engineer at Wilson & Company, the company NMDOT contracted with for the engineering of the project, said the new pavement would be offset from the existing path of NM 109 – Jarales Road – about 70 feet to the east. . The new roadway and bridge will have two 12-foot lanes of traffic and five-foot shoulders on each side.
Plans call for a retaining wall on the west side of the new road with Jersey barriers, and an embankment on the east with a metal barrier.
Cordova said some side streets near the bridge would be realigned to connect with the new roadway and others, like Lazy Lane, would have dead ends at the ends to make it easier to turn large vehicles, such as buses.
Properties totaling around 10 acres will be purchased in their entirety for rights of way, along with partial segments of other properties totaling around five acres, he said.
“We will need an easement from BNSF for the bridge itself,” Cordova said. “We have spoken to all the landowners and hope to purchase the property we need by the end of this year or early next year.”
Kelly Heath, a structural engineer at Wilson & Company, said the bridge would be approximately 330 feet long to span the existing three BNSF tracks and accommodate any additional future tracks.
Since the bridge will have a visual impact on the area, John Taschek, an environmental planner with Ecosphere, said project coordinators wanted to hear from the public about the final appearance of the bridge.
Once construction began on the bridge itself, Chavez said the existing Jarales road would be closed.
Cordova said that because county officials have expressed concern about large vehicles using Mill and Castillo roads as a detour during the closure, the designated detour route will be along NM 436 south and NM 309. – Reinken Road – north.
“This is how we plan to sign it, but that doesn’t mean the locals won’t use Mill or Castillo,” he said. “We cannot prevent them from taking this road.
Other community members asked if the bridge would increase property taxes in the area or across the county, as well as whether the area would be rezoned as industrial.
Chavez said she was not aware of any tax increases related to the project and would ask about any impact on local zoning.
“We want to make this project a success for your community,” she said.
Chavez is the project contact and can be reached at 505-288-4104.
A recording of Thursday’s meeting, feedback forms, and other project documents and resources are available at nm109.nmdotprojects.org. The NMDOT requests that comments be submitted by Friday, September 3.
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