by Ashleigh Sanchez
Daily Lobo
Orange barrels and construction signs will grace the roads of North Campus for the rest of the semester.
Construction began last week on the intersection of Camino de Salud and Yale Boulevard, west of UNM Hospital.
The plan is to convert it to a roundabout to ease traffic flow, said Benson Hendrix, a UNM spokesman.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"This is to develop better traffic to the hospital and North Campus," Hendrix said.
The intersection is essential to the growth of UNM Hospital, said Mary Kenney, associate vice president of Facilities
Management.
Kenney said crews will widen Yale Boulevard to fit the traffic circle.
They will condense the entrance for the Physics and Astronomy Building by November.
Hendrix said that entrance will move to the north side of the building.
He said Camino de Salud will close for construction west of Yale Boulevard beginning in
November.
"There will be flagmen directing traffic, and alternate routes will be available," he said.
Yale will also close south of the intersection, and traffic will divert through the physics and astronomy parking lot around construction and back onto Camino de Salud for the remainder of the project,
Hendrix said.
He said Tucker Avenue will be open throughout the project to maintain access to North Campus facilities.
The entrances to M Lot, Physical Plant and the Office of Capital Projects will remain open to Camino de Salud, Hendrix said.
Camino de Salud will reopen west of Yale in December, and Yale will close south of the intersection just before Tucker, Hendrix said.
Hendrix said the construction will not affect ambulance access to the hospital.
Kenney said the roundabout will be designed to accommodate the UNM buses that use Yale Boulevard as a route
to campus.
"The studies showed that a roundabout would be the safest, most sustainable and beneficial solution for the hospital," Kenney said.
The studies revealed that UNM Hospital needs to grow, and as it does, an entrance to all parts of the hospital will be needed as a safety measure, she said.
"Roundabouts slow traffic, making it safer for pedestrians and for patients trying to find their way to the hospital,"
Kenney said.
Stefanie Gallegos takes classes in the physics building near the intersection and has her doubts about the safety benefit.
"It's a safety issue," she said. "It's already complicated. It doesn't need to be changed."
Student Pedro Sanchez said he works near the intersection. He said it will help.
"It will force people to pay
attention and keep traffic moving," he said.
More signs will go up to help patients and visitors find parking and parts of the hospital, Kenney said.
