That's according to Phil Gallegos, public information officer for the Department of Transportation, who said that a new project between the Zuzax exit and Tijeras should begin in the middle of this month and last for 210 calendar days, or until mid-October.

The westbound portion of the freeway will be choked down to one lane for the 3.5-mile stretch for the entire time the road is being reconstructed.

During the first phase of the project — which should last for 75 to 100 days and end sometime in June — the eastbound lanes will be rebuilt, he said. At that time the eastbound on-ramp at Tijeras will be closed.

During phase two of the project, the westbound off-ramp to N.M. 14 at Tijeras will be closed. The westbound on-ramp at N.M. 337 will also close during phase two but only for 30 days, Gallegos said.

Baring unforeseen circumstances, Zuzax on- and off-ramps will remain open for the entire project. The eastbound off-ramp into Tijeras and the westbound on-ramp at N.M. 14 will remain open throughout the project.

When finished, this $22 million project will complete several years of projects along I-40 and connect rebuilt sections of the freeway from close to the Santa Fe County line to the Carnuel area near Albuquerque.

Although this project will not alter the size of the roadway nor add any lanes, Gallegos said, other recent projects did include such improvements.

The project that was recently completed, from Sedillo to Zuzax, widened lanes and shoulders, and in the areas where vehicles have to climb a hill, there is now a third lane for slower-moving traffic.

Gallegos said those improvements were badly needed, pointing out that the roads were designed to the standards of the 1960s.

According to Gallegos, the wider lanes in those sections give motorists more time to recover in case of a problem, which gives them added time to avoid accidents.