ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – With recent road closures on Osuna Road between Second Street and Fourth Street, people living on a nearby north valley road say they feel their once-quiet roadway has now turned into a highway as drivers seek alternate routes.
“This is a small little road and people should respect the fact that…it’s not designed to have the amount of traffic that is on it, and that is why there is no thru traffic signs,” said Justin Hodge, who lives on Willow Road in Los Ranchos. Neighbors like Hodge say since the February 27 closure of Osuna, traffic in front of their homes has drastically increased. A video shows drivers trying to go down Osuna, which is only open to people who live there, making U-turns, and heading for the next street over – Willow Road.
Large vehicles, including semi-trucks, ignored the signs cutting through both Willow and Vineyard roads, using the smaller residential areas as arteries to get around Osuna. “Since the ‘no thru’ road signs were put up, it hasn’t had any impact either; people just drive around them. They are going to have to use some road, and they are more than likely going to use ours because it’s the closest to it,” Hodge said. A spokesperson for the Village of Los Ranchos says drivers should be taking Montaño or El Pueblo as alternate routes. Those designated alternate routes are a half-mile to a mile away from Osuna.
The Village of Los Ranchos hopes to have Osuna reopened by this weekend as crews finish up utility and sidewalk work for a new apartment complex, shops, and restaurants.
