ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Crews are rebuilding two interchanges and adding a southbound I-25 lane. But Balloon Fiesta starts this Saturday, and we know many visitors take I-25 to get to the park. 

So, KOB 4 checked in with the New Mexico Department of Transportation to ask what drivers will expect in this area during Balloon Fiesta. 

A spokesperson with NMDOT says what folks see Tuesday is what you’ll see for Balloon Fiesta. Nothing major is changing and there will be no additional lane closures. 

All the work is overnight from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. so you’ll probably see crews out on your early morning trips to the park. But most work is getting done underneath the Comanche bridge right now. 

NMDOT says it does want to add more signage though.

“We’ll have added alerts on our overhead DMS boards, just alerting people that are coming in from out of state and around the world of an upcoming zone. Really, it’s not an it’ll be actively construction. Active construction will be going on, but it will not be impacting traffic daily during the fiesta,” said Kimberly Gallegos, a NMDOT spokesperson.

If you’ve driven this stretch since work has started, then you know how easily it gets backed up. 

maybe you’ve seen a car crash or two or been stick in the backup because of one. 

we’ve reported on a few in the area over the course of the construction. 

NMDOT says they’ve been in talks about to do about this. Crews are noticing congestion starts when people try to switch from far left lanes to far right when merging and vice versa. 

They say if you’re not merging, try and stay to the far left lane to help with the congestion. 

“We are aware of the number of crashes. There’s also other incidents, like stalled vehicles areas where we were having somebody that’s not a crash, it’s an incident. And so we’re seeing a lot of different incidences in the work zone, but we’re just asking people to give themselves space in between the car in front of them,” said Gallegos. 

They recommend giving yourself extra time to make it to the park, and to remember to be patient when dealing with any congestion. 

This project is expected to last for the next three years. 

For more construction updates for the I-25 improvements from Comanche to Montgomery, click here.