Subject: Overnight freeway restrictions in the Phoenix area this week (Oct. 1-4) & In N.M., long haul is easy ride Date: Monday, October 01, 2007 10:23 PM Overnight freeway restrictions in the Phoenix area this week (Oct. 1-4) Several freeway improvement projects will require overnight lane restrictions this week. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) recommends drivers give themselves extra travel time and consider using alternate routes while the following restrictions are in place: * Interstate 17 narrowed to one lane in each direction between Happy Valley Road and Carefree Highway from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Thursday nights for bridge construction work. * Eastbound US 60 (Superstition Freeway) narrowed to one lane between Crismon and Idaho roads in the Apache Junction area from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday nights for pavement repair work. Eastbound US 60 on- and off-ramps at Signal Butte Road and eastbound on-ramp at Crismon Road closed from 9 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday. * Southbound Loop 101 (Pima Freeway) on-ramp at McDowell Road and northbound Loop 101 on-ramp at Thomas Road closed from 9 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday for freeway traffic technology installation. * Westbound Loop 202 (Santan Freeway) narrowed to two lanes between Kyrene Road and 48th Street in the Chandler area from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday nights for lane striping. Drivers should be prepared to slow down and merge safely when approaching work zones. For a complete list of freeway and highway restrictions across Arizona visit ADOT’s Travel Information site at www.az511.com or call 5-1-1. _____ In N.M., long haul is easy ride Riders embrace rail line; big price tag questioned Glen Creno The Arizona Republic Sept. 30, 2007 12:00 AM ALBUQUERQUE - Sharon Hedrich heads out a little before 7 each morning for the 20-mile trip to the law office where she works in downtown Albuquerque. She used to leave home earlier for the dreaded crawl down the city's congested freeway. Driving to work could take 40 minutes or more, depending on the number of emergencies stalling traffic. Now, she boards a commuter train, settles into a plush red seat and spends the half-hour ride reading a novel. She says the train saves her aggravation - and money. "I put 7 miles a day on my car instead of 50," Hedrich said recently as the train zipped toward Albuquerque, New Mexico's largest city. "It's 50 bucks a month for me to ride this. I couldn't even get two tanks of gas for that." New Mexico's year-old Rail Runner Express commuter-train system carries about 3,000 people a day into and out of downtown Albuquerque, removing cars from busy freeways and a lot of stress from people like Hedrich. Valley commuters have a few express bus routes but no commuter rail - fast-moving trains with cars that can carry about 90 to 150 people. Light rail debuts next year between Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa. Commuter rail would connect outlying cities such as Buckeye and Queen Creek to metropolitan Phoenix and run on the same tracks freight railroads use. Across the country, commuter-rail systems serve major cities such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Systems are either up and running or planned in such smaller cities as Minneapolis, Denver and Salt Lake City. Commuter rail is gaining momentum in the Valley. City, state and county officials are meeting, and a study for creating a system in Maricopa and Pinal counties is under way. The Maricopa Association of Governments is overseeing that study, which is expected to be completed by year's end. Commuter rail has been at the forefront before. In 1989, voters rejected the $8.4 billion ValTrans transportation proposal that included commuter rail. In 2003, planners studied commuter rail again but decided traffic wasn't bad enough for a rail system. Fast development, steep gas prices and longer drives to work have forced the issue back into the hands of MAG. The biggest obstacle, officials say, is finding the money to create a system. "We've got to get over that hurdle," said Kevin Wallace, who manages MAG's transit program. "I don't want to minimize the funding issue, but other areas have done it." To see what it's like to have commuter rail, The Republic spent two days riding the train in Albuquerque, talking with commuters and rail officials. Early reviews of the system are mixed. People like the train's affordability. Some even like the idea that they are helping to reduce air pollution. Critics, however, say operating the $9 million-a-year system is too expensive and not enough people use it. For people like Hedrich, it all boils down to convenience and some quiet time they would otherwise not have. Congestion cutter At 6:30 on a Monday morning, the Rail Runner pulls into the Belen rail station, the southernmost point of the 50-mile system. Dozens of commuters quickly board the double-tier passenger cars. Some have passes. Others stop to buy tickets on the platform or on the train. The diesel-electric train pulls out of the station just before 7. It races past farm fields. Small clusters of buildings flash by. Cars on nearby roads are overtaken and disappear. As the landscape flies by, passengers fall into morning routines. Nurse's aide Barbara Chavez fiddles with her double-hoop earrings. College student Brianna Duran flips through a textbook. "This is $2 a day compared to $10 when I drive," Duran said. "I'm a broke college student. I can't pay for a lot of driving." Ridership has been increasing since the train began operating, and officials say it has exceeded expectations. Commuters travel varying distances on the train, but the average one-way trip is 24 miles. The goal has been to pull those long-distance commuters off the freeways, said Chris Blewett, train-system project manager with the Mid-Region Council of Governments, the group that oversees the system. "When you diagnose the trips that are killing your transportation system, these are the ones," he said. Phase 1: $135 million It's still dark in downtown Albuquerque on a Tuesday morning when Geronimo Trujillo walks onto a platform to wait for his train to work. He uses an all-access pass for the bus trip to the train station and for his train ride to the Los Ranchos/Journal Center stop north of Albuquerque. He used to drive 45 minutes to get to his job at a Pella Windows and Doors plant by 7:30 a.m. A clogged freeway often stretched that trip. So he was thrilled when New Mexico decided to build a rail system. Gov. Bill Richardson pushed commuter rail as part of a $1.6 billion transportation and infrastructure improvement plan the Legislature passed in 2003. He said the train would be crucial in attacking traffic and serve as an economic stimulus for the area. The first phase of the system, from Belen to Bernalillo, opened last year. The second phase will extend rail to Santa Fe. New Mexico bought tracks from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. Freight trains and Amtrak passenger trains use the line, but commuter trains get first priority. The first phase cost $135 million. Most of that was from the state to buy such things as train cars and sta- tions. The money also bought train riders a comfortable trip. Seats are upholstered, and some rows have tables. There are bathrooms and places to secure bikes. Cars are air-conditioned. Wireless Internet is on the way. The train has done wonders for Trujillo's commute, cutting it in half. He brings a bicycle for the hop from the train station to the window plant. "I just tried it one day, and I got to work faster," he said. "I like this system." Not without problems Transportation officials say the rail system has been a success. But it also has had its challenges. The system endured the typical raps against a big public-works project: It fell behind schedule, an anti-tax foundation called it a bad idea and there were some startup problems. Scheduling the commuter trains turned out to be a headache at first. The commuter trains were supposed to be first in line, but dispatchers were giving freight trains priority, fouling up the Rail Runner's schedules. "We had a come-to-Jesus talk with everybody," said Lawrence Rael, executive director of the Mid-Region Council of Governments. And in the past two months, the train collided with cars on two occasions, killing three people. Both crashes occurred during the day at country-road crossings that lack gates but do have warning signs. No train riders were injured. Future plans The Rail Runner's next move is establishing service to Santa Fe, north of Albuquerque. An additional $240 million to $255 million will be spent. The Rio Grande Foundation, an Albuquerque group critical of Gov. Richardson's spending policies, said the Santa Fe line should be shelved. Instead, the group says the money should be spent for more buses between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Those who oversee the rail system call it a bet on the future. They expect driving times will get longer while train times will remain about the same. "If we were to wait until congestion is a crisis, the cost would go much higher," Rael said. "We're really ahead of the curve in planning the transportation system." It's been a half-hour since Sharon Hedrich boarded the train in Los Lunas. Now, as it eases to a stop in Albuquerque, she heads for the door. Passengers either hop on a transfer bus, catch a free shuttle or board the downtown bus that loops around government offices and businesses. Hedrich does none. Instead, she steps onto the platform looking relaxed. Then she begins the one-block walk to her office. "It couldn't be more convenient," she said.