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County authorizes maintenance agreement for Trinity Drive RRFB and approves $3.34M budget revision
Summary
The council approved a maintenance agreement with NMDOT for a rectangular rapid flashing beacon at Trinity Drive (NM-502) & 20th Street, and approved a $3,340,000 budget revision to incorporate newly awarded federal/state HSIP funds for the Trinity Drive safety project.
Los Alamos County Council voted unanimously on Dec. 2 to approve a maintenance agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation for a rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB) at the intersection of Trinity Drive (NM 502) and 20th Street and to accept a related $3,340,000 budget revision for the Trinity Drive safety and ADA improvements project.
County staff presented the history and scope of the corridor project—rooted in a 2016 road safety audit—and the preferred ‘‘hybrid road diet’’ alternative adopted in 2024. Project elements include medians to channelize traffic, added bike lanes, wider sidewalks, and enhanced pedestrian crossings. Staff explained that RRFBs were chosen at 20th Street after a warrant analysis found that a full traffic signal was not currently warranted; the RRFB is being installed with future conversion in mind.
Jennifer Morrow, the project’s newly introduced project manager, described construction mitigation steps (dedicated web page, contractor messaging boards, advanced outreach) and said the county is pursuing a pavement treatment to shorten construction and shift about $1 million toward sidewalks and safety elements. She also reviewed a funding history showing prior study and construction awards and the newly awarded $3,340,000 grant the vote will authorize into the construction budget.
Council questions addressed evacuation operations (the hybrid cross‑section facilitates eastbound evacuation and could be reversed for extraordinary events), RRFB cost estimates (staff said the flasher system estimate is approximately $200,000 and will provide an engineer’s estimate), and plans to address longstanding barricade/bollard needs around Ashley Pond (staff said bollards will be pursued as a separate but coordinated effort). Staff said the bid advertisement is expected next month, with construction beginning in spring and substantial construction impacts mitigated by 2026.
Councilor Reiting moved approval of the maintenance agreement and budget revision; the motion received a second and passed on a roll-call vote of 7-0.
