Freeway message boards add drive times

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - You see them all the time on freeway message boards: Winter driving conditions, crash ahead, even Amber Alerts.

Now there's a new message: How long it's going to take to get where you're going.

You may have noticed the new commute times on your way to work spelling out how long it should take to get to a certain point like Tramway or the Sunport.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation says that can come in especially handy during rush hour.

"During times when you might have a typically unduly amount of congestion, it provides the traveler some information on what they need to know to plan their needs," Charles Remkes of the NMDOT said.

The Federal Highway Administration is requiring the signs to go up.

But for now they're only posting commute times during morning and evening rush hours.

While those signs may reduce headaches, a construction headache is about to afflict Interstate 40 west of Albuquerque.

Starting Monday six miles of I-40 from just west of the city to the Rio Puerco will be undergoing a rebuild that includes extending the eastbound climbing lane.

One side of the interstate will be closed at a time during the $12 million project scheduled to wrap up in by the end of October.