Mar. 4—The state Department of Transportation has had to slow its plan to install speed cameras in construction zones.

After the deaths of two construction workers over a six-month period, the department pursued a proposal to set up automated speed enforcement cameras along highly traveled state roads under construction, with the goal of presenting it to the state Transportation Commission for approval as early as January.

However, the proposal — much like the state’s roads — didn’t go smoothly.

While the process to set up speed cameras in municipalities is clear under New Mexico law, the same isn’t true outside city limits, Transportation Secretary Ricky Serna said in an interview.

“When a municipality wants to put a speed cam on their road, there’s a clear statute on how they do that,” he said. “If a municipality wants to put a speed cam within the municipality on a state road, they can do that, too, but they have to come to us for permission. But what’s not clear is when the state wants to put a camera on its roads outside a municipality.”

For example, Serna said, DOT will have a “clear path” to install speed cameras when it begins work on improving the Interstate 25 corridor between Comanche Road and Montgomery Boulevard within Albuquerque’s city limits.

“It’s within a municipality, it’s on a [state-maintained] road, and it’s going to be a construction zone,” he said. “For those projects on state roads within municipalities, we’ve got a clear path, and we’ll move forward there, and those will be the projects that we’ll get before the Transportation Commission as soon as possible.”

Serna said he didn’t anticipate much pushback from municipalities.

“I really do believe that given the circumstances and the need to really keep people safe here, we’re going to get the buy-in that we need where that’s necessary,” he said. “We’re going to be talking about, ‘There are going to be human beings on the road when drivers are going to be moving through this area. We’re going to keep them safe. Let’s work together to get that done.’ “

The state Transportation Department, along with the Associated Contractors of New Mexico, whose members are doing much of the road construction work across the state, are sounding the alarm over what they say are dangerous conditions in construction zones as drivers ignore posted speed limits. One problematic area has been the project south of Santa Fe at La Bajada.

The worry over the safety of construction workers comes as the department is expected to receive close to $750 million for a slew of roadway projects across the state.

“We definitely have to look forward at what capacity we have to do work and how we’re going to keep all those workers safe,” Serna said. “We’re going to keep pushing. We’re not going to consider this, you know, a pump in the brakes. It’s just a hurdle we have to get over.”

Serna said his department is “still untangling” the process to get speed cameras installed outside municipalities. The commission soon will be considering a request by Bernalillo County that could serve as a litmus test, he said.

Serna said the department also hopes to team up with local governments that already have existing programs and ask them to set up speed cameras on state roads under construction.

“Ultimately, this impacts drivers and so we don’t want to create a space where drivers are confused about [which agency operates the speed camera] or who do I have to work with on this citation,” he said. “We want to make it as simple as possible for local residents, too, so they’re not saying, ‘How many [automated speed enforcement] programs do we have here?’ “

Though there have been legal hurdles, Serna said ongoing discussions about speed cameras have raised awareness.

“The more we talk about it, the more the locals realize this is something that they can do on their own,” he said. “It’s all part of building a culture of awareness about roadway safety.”

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.