July is finish line for I-25 widening
I-25 PROJECT ALMOST DONE: The New Mexico Department of Transportation is nearing the finish line on the Interstate 25 widening work between San Antonio and Jefferson.
This weekend, the exits at San Mateo were closed overnight. Kimberly Gallegos with NMDOT says, “The I-25 San Antonio to Jefferson Project is almost complete! This project included the construction of an additional lane on southbound I-25 from San Antonio to Jefferson and a second lane on the northbound off ramp at the San Antonio interchange. It also includes ITS (intelligent transportation system) infrastructure, overhead signing, bridge widening and a bridge deck overlay. The project is scheduled for completion in July.” PIZZA FOR POTHOLES: Domino’s has kicked off a campaign called Paving for Pizza, saying “potholes, cracks, and bumps in the road can cause irreversible damage to your pizza during the drive home from Domino’s. We can’t stand by and let your cheese slide to one side, your toppings get un-topped, or your boxes get flipped. So we’re helping to pave in towns across the country to save your good pizza from these bad roads.”
And so the pizza delivery giant is “offering grants to communities to help in their pizzas getting to their customers in a pristine fashion,” city spokesman Johnny Chandler explains. And while “the city of Albuquerque has plenty of funds to fix potholes, and we are continuously working on improving the conditions of Albuquerque’s roadways,” Chandler adds “if residents want to attempt to get grant money from Domino’s to help with funding to improve our roads, why not? Any additional money that saves taxpayer funds can only help.”
In fiscal 2017, Albuquerque filled 9,272 potholes, Chandler says, with material and wages costing around “$310,900 or approximately $33.53/pothole.”
On Friday, pavingforpizza. com showed 40 potholes filled in Milford, Del.; 150 square yards of pavement repaired in Athens, Ga.; eight potholes filled in Bartonville, Texas; and five potholes plugged in Burbank, Calif. — courtesy of Domino’s.
The website has a tab to enter a nomination; meanwhile, Chandler says, “We encourage all residents regarding any road feedback to call 311 and we’ll address the situation as soon as possible.”
WHAT DID THE ROUNDABOUT
ROW COST? That question comes from a reader who emails, “In the 6/15 newsletter sent by (City Councilor) Isaac Benton, he mentioned that the rights-of-way needed to construct (the Rio Grande/Candelaria) roundabout have been acquired. This isn’t what the grapevine told me, so I would like to know what the truth is. I would also like to know just how much that cost. It is supposed to be my tax dollar(s) at work.”
Diane Dolan, the policy analyst for Benton, says, “The right-of-way acquisition was actually completed last summer/fall. The city purchased properties needed for the construction of the roundabout from general obligation bond funding from the Advanced ROW Acquisition activity. The costs for the properties totaled $28,440.”
Benton’s office has said construction is planned for later this year.