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Road construction site at Edith Boulevard and Montaño Road.

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Commuters from the West Side and North Valley can expect another winter of discontent as a new round of roadwork begins.

Delays and detours will be in their immediate future as Bernalillo County tackles a $17 million reconstruction project involving Edith Boulevard and Montaño Road Northwest.

County representatives and road crews say the construction will benefit commuters in the long run by widening lanes and improving road conditions in an area that sees 13,000 vehicles a day.

The county Public Works Division will host a public information meeting on the project at 6 p.m. today at Los Griegos Health and Social Center, 1231 Candelaria Road N.W., with representatives of the contractor, AS Horner, and the county.

County spokeswoman Catherine Lopez said residents can look over maps of the project and traffic control plans, and talk to construction team members.

Frank Williams, project engineer for the Public Works Division, said the yearlong project, which begins Jan. 7, will expand Edith Boulevard to five lanes between Candelaria and Montaño. The project will also add a storm drain system, curbs, gutters, sidewalks and lighting.

Reconstructing the Montaño/Edith intersection is another part of the project. Engineers say that work is expected to be completed by May.

The work also calls for adding a lane on both sides of Montaño Road from the railroad tracks to the Alameda Lateral, an irrigation canal about a quarter mile east of Edith.

The city added lanes to Montaño Road on both sides of the county's 1/2-mile strip of the road earlier this year.

The city could not do the work because that section of the road is in the county, said Williams and Mark Motsko, spokesman for the city's Department of Municipal Development.

West Side and North Valley drivers are familiar with the orange barrels that sprout when roadwork is being done.

Montaño has been under a near-constant state of construction for more than a year, between the striping of the Montaño Bridge, the previous widening by the city, and reconstruction of intersections at Fourth Street and Second Street Northwest.

Construction also clogged the North Valley as the Fourth Street/Osuna Road intersection was rebuilt and water pipes were installed throughout the area as part of the San Juan-Chama drinking water project.

Roger Paul, technical services director for Bernalillo County's Public Works Division, said because of the past construction, some residents and business owners are nervous about the coming project blocking access to their homes and businesses.

Paul said the contractor has to keep access open to all their properties.

Starting Jan. 7, Williams said, road workers will try to reduce congestion during peak travel times (6-9 a.m. and 3-7 p.m.) by keeping two lanes open on both sides of Montaño.