By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Holiday Traffic is usually fairly heavy in the Raton area but this year on Sunday November 26, 2023 the traffic going northbound was especially heavy and it slowed to a crawl backing up in several directions affecting both Highway 72 and Highway 64-87 from the east.
Sunday afternoon traffic began to slow going up I-25 into the construction area on Raton Pass. As the afternoon went on it slowed to a crawl and traffic in downtown Raton became congested as well with travelers trying to find alternative routes around the congestion, but none was to be found as the north Raton exit to I-25 is still closed due to the construction.
NMDOT began the construction work on Raton Pass late this year beginning at the end of May and have yet to complete the work and open things back up going north. North bound I-25 converges in north Raton and is still one lane all the way up to the top of Raton Pass.
Before the Thanksgiving holiday most all of the new pavement was laid and stripped but there was still guardrail work to be completed. Hopefully before the area gets any major snow the pass will be back to some semblance of normal.
As for the cause of the backup KRTN has not been able to confirm any specific cause but State Police had reported that a bear had been hit up on the pass and was off on the side of the road. Whether that was the cause of the initial backup is uncertain at press time.
Why was south bound backed up?
Very few states in the country allow a contractor to keep traffic down to one lane during any major holiday. There is no excuse that this project has taken this long to complete. NMDOT needs to do a better job in choosing a contractor, as low bidder does not always indicate the best interest of the project or the residents. It’s obviously a problem and should be considered in any future project. There is no reason it should take a resident an hour or more for a 10 minute trip to the store because of poor planning.
Something needs to be done this has happened over and over to people who live east of the bridge never able to get back home!!! It’s dangerous for them to be at a stand still on the bridge and on frontage road with no access to our homes. Police were called but said they was nothing to be done by way of directing traffic. Just sad it was blocked till 8pm completely uncalled for.