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With a little taste of Hollywood comes a little taste of L.A. - prepare for traffic snags around town in October

A little bit of Hollywood has temporarily made its home in Las Cruces. A production crew working on the upcoming film "Due Date" began shooting a car stunt scene Oct. 6.

While the proximity to the movie magic is exciting, some local commuters may feel like a piece of Los Angeles has relocated to the area along with Hollywood, as the shooting is causing some traffic woes.

A two-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 70, from Sonoma Ranch Boulevard to the Del Rey exit, is where the shoot - in which a car drives off the highway and lands on Rinconada Boulevard - is taking place. As such, closures abound in the area and will continue until the project wraps Oct. 26. The scene involves one week each of day and night shooting.

Expect delays on U.S. Highway 70, from Sonoma Ranch Boulevard to the Del Rey exit, in October, as a film crew will be working in the area.

The U.S. Hwy. 70 traffic control plan approved by the New Mexico Department of Transportation for the remainder of the month is as follows:

Tuesday, Oct. 13 - Wednesday Oct. 14

Westbound lanes will close at 6:30 a.m., with traffic diverted to Sonoma Ranch Boulevard onto Northrise Drive, over to Roadrunner Parkway and back onto U.S. Hwy. 70.

Eastbound lanes will close at 8 a.m., with traffic diverted to Roadrunner Parkway onto Northrise Drive, over to Sonoma Ranch Boulevard and back up to U.S. Hwy. 70.

Thursday, Oct. 15

All lanes of U.S. Hwy. 70 westbound will reopen (one lane, from Sonoma Ranch Boulevard to Rinconada Boulevard, has been closed since Oct. 9)

Friday, Oct. 17 - Monday Oct. 26

Westbound lanes will close at 6:30 p.m., with traffic diverted to Sonoma Ranch Boulevard onto Northrise Drive, then onto Del Rey Boulevard and back onto U.S. Hwy. 70.

Eastbound lanes will close at 7 p.m., with traffic diverted to Del Rey Boulevard from I-25 and N. Main Street/U.S. Hwy. 70.

During this time motorists will encounter double-lane closures on N. Main Street at the intersection of Elks Drive and Triviz Drive. However, they will have access to I-25.

No closures or detours are scheduled for Oct. 15-16 or 22-23, and all underpasses will remain open at night. No access will be allowed on frontage roads.

During the closures, residents in the Rinconada North subdivision will use Settler's Pass Road to Del Rey Boulevard as a detour.

For up-to-the-minute traffic alerts, call 511 or 800-432-4269.

More information and a map detailing the closures and detours can be found on the New Mexico Department of Transportation Web site at http://www.nmshtd.state.nm.us/upload/images/District%201/smUS70CloseOct09%20FINALbyCLC.pdf.

"Due Date," stars Robert Downey Jr. ("Tropic Thunder"), Zach Galifianakis ("The Hangover") and Michelle Monaghan ("Made of Honor"), and is directed by Todd Phillips ("The Hangover," "School for Scoundrels"). Downey will play a high-strung expectant father who finds himself on a road trip with a mismatched partner (Galifianakis), as he races to his wife (Monaghan) before she gives birth to his first child. The film is expected to arrive in November 2010.

Written by Mark Cramer.