I-40 Widening and San Mateo Interchange Project Vies for National Award

The Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (WASHTO), which comprises 18 states west of the Mississippi River including New Mexico, selected the I-40 Widening and San Mateo Interchange project as a winner for the regional America's Transportation Awards. The project, submitted by the New Mexico Department of Transportation for consideration, was the winner in the category for On Time: Medium Project-$26-$199 Million. The project will now proceed to the national level as a finalist for the 2010 America's Transportation Awards. It will be competing against nine other projects from around the U.S. for the Grand Prize and for the People's Choice Award.

About the Project
The I-40 Widening and San Mateo Interchange project in Albuquerque included widening the I-40 mainline facility from Carlisle Boulevard to just east of San Mateo Boulevard, adding continuous auxiliary lanes between the ramps, reconstructing a deteriorating pavement section, rebuilding the existing San Mateo Interchange, and replacing the aging bridge structures at San Mateo. The goal of these improvements was to allow for the expansion of I-40, increase capacity of the I-40 and San Mateo facilities, improve traffic operations based on existing and projected traffic demand, correct physical deficiencies of the interchange, and improve safety for drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists who use the facilities. To accomplish these goals, two projects were undertaken: the I-40/San Mateo Interchange Reconstruction (led by Bohannan Huston, Inc.) and the I-40 Widening from Carlisle to San Mateo (led by Wilson & Company, Inc.). The two projects, each led by a different design firm, were bid as one construction package, and the contractor (A.S. Horner) and the two design teams worked together to make sure it became one successful, cohesive project for the New Mexico Department of Transportation.