U.S. 70 traffic unclogs as 'Due Date' filming ends

LAS CRUCES -- Filming wrapped up early Tuesday on a movie production that led to closings of U.S. Highway 70 this month and to lots of commuter delays, which tested the patience of motorists.

The final highway shutdown ended at 5:30 a.m., said Bridget Spedalieri, spokeswoman for the New Mexico

"There should not be any obstruction along U.S. 70 as of ? (Tuesday) morning," she said.

All lanes of the highway were closed for 14 days this month while production crews of the comedy, "Due Date," shot traffic scenes for the film, which stars Robert Downey Jr.

Las Cruces film liaison Bill McCamey said part of the crew members would remain in the city for at least a few days "wrapping everything up, making sure places they've rented are clean and that all of the bills have been paid." He said they won't be filming.

McCamey said he didn't yet have statistics about how much the production company spent in Las Cruces. He said the information would be available in a few days.

East Mesa resident Stanford Locke said he doubted that the revenue generated by the filming made up for the value of lost work time, as employees and small-business owners were delayed because of traffic backlogs. He said the closings amount to a "constitutional violation" because the state took residents' time to benefit a private company.

"There are at least 10,000 households that have been adversely affected by this," he said. "How can these bureaucrats say it's OK for 10,000 people to sacrifice so that Hollywood can glorify itself?"

Traffic snarls were especially bad the first days of filming, after officials miscalculated the effects of the shutdowns.

The closure hours were shortened from 12-hour periods to affect fewer commuters. The most recent closings were at night, when less traffic was on the road. But some residents still reported problems.

Asked whether the closings were worthwhile, Spedalieri replied: "In the long run, probably so because it was money spent here within our state. I know there's always good and bad in everything, and unfortunately for those who had to travel that during the peak time of the day, it was an inconvenience, and we tried to mitigate that as best as we could."

Off-duty Las Cruces police, State Police officers and Do?a Ana County sheriff's deputies were hired by the company for traffic control.

State Police Capt. Rich Libicer, who coordinated the agencies, said only minor traffic accidents were reported during the closings.

Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima said that he heard the most complaints after the first closing, Oct. 6, but that complaints dropped significantly after the schedule was changed.

He said he thought that in the future, highway department officials would notify the City Council and "not just an engineer or the police department" about plans for approving a special-use permit for closing the highway.

"Though they're technically not required to do so, I think all of us have learned we need to work together here," he said. "These are smart public officials; they know that if we can avoid any type of situation like this, the better."

Overall, McCamey said, filming was a "good experience for the production company."

"The stunts went well," he said. "They actually said they would love to return to Las Cruces for filming."

Diana M. Alba may be reached at dalba@lcsun-news.com; 575-541-5443.