Lobo fans excited to watch the men's team play UNLV Wednesday night encountered traffic troubles while trying to get to and from The Pit. Drivers who normally use Yale Blvd. to get to the stadium found the street closed from just north of Chavez to just north of Coal Avenue as part of the city's Lead-Coal construction project. Spectator Paul Greenfield said of the detours, "What used to be how we would take a back route coming here or going from here is closed also—it's a big impact." Officials with the city say the Yale closure started Monday and will last at least 30 days. It's part of Lead and Coal avenues' reconfiguration to improve drainage, landscaping, and reduce speeding. Lobo fans say because of it, they've had to start coming to games 15 to 20 minutes earlier. "I'm going to have to take another route … I think it's an inconvenience—it's necessary—but the timing is inappropriate," said Victor Smith. City officials offer that a better alternative route would be to take Gibson east and turn left onto University. The Lead-Coal project is expected to be finished by the summer of 2012. The City of Albuquerque has set up a website to answer any questions you might have on the Lead & Coal Improvement Project. http://leadandcoal.com/
