Sidewalk removal begins at Trinity and Oppenheimer for utility work
Crews will close sidewalks at Trinity and Oppenheimer on June 15 as utility work starts for a $6.75 million corridor overhaul.
The northwest corner of Trinity Drive and Oppenheimer Drive will turn into a work zone Monday as crews mobilize to remove sidewalk for electric conduit installation. Los Alamos County is warning pedestrians and drivers to use caution, with sidewalks closed during construction and barrels placed in the merge lane to protect the work area.
The sidewalk removal is the first visible step in the Trinity Primary Electric Replacement Project, which the county awarded to Dub-L-EE. It is also tied to the larger Trinity Drive Safety and ADA Improvements project, expected to start in July on NM 502 between Oppenheimer Drive and 15th Street. County project materials place the total value at $6.75 million and list a target completion date of December 31, 2026.
For people moving through downtown Los Alamos, the disruption will be immediate and practical. The Trinity and Oppenheimer area connects drivers heading toward the Mesa Library, Ashley Pond events, the Justice Center and other destinations along one of the county’s busiest corridors. County officials say the work will unfold in phases, with utility construction handled in ways intended to reduce impacts to public events and nearby businesses.
The long-term design goes beyond a utility replacement. County plans call for an 8-foot multiuse path along the south side of Ashley Pond Park from 20th Street to the Justice Center, a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon at Trinity Drive and 20th Street, medians to separate traffic and better define turn lanes, and new water line and service work from Oppenheimer Drive to 20th Street. The project also includes selective gas line and valve replacement from 20th Street to Knecht Street and selective electrical line replacements in the construction area.
County leaders have been building toward this work for years. A February 2016 Road Safety Audit focused on pedestrian safety, mobility and operations along Trinity Drive, and the county later secured $6.75 million in federal Highway Safety Improvement Program funding for construction safety improvements. In a 2024 resolution, the County Council selected Alternative Three, Hybrid Road Diet Two, which would reduce the existing five-lane road to a four-lane configuration with a center turn lane, two eastbound lanes, one westbound lane and two bicycle lanes.
The county held a public meeting June 6 to outline existing safety hazards and project alternatives, and more status updates are planned for mid-June, August and October. As work begins at Trinity and Oppenheimer, the corridor is entering a summer of construction that will bring inconvenience now and a redesigned street later.
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