Patching the pavement, day and night

Is your daily commute starting to feel a little smoother? City of Albuquerque road crews have been furiously filling potholes — plugging and patching 3,646 of the pavement craters in the first six weeks of 2019.

That’s more than they eliminated during the last six months of 2018, according to numbers provided by the city’s Department of Municipal Development.

DMD spokesman Johnny Chandler said the department prioritizes major streets and large potholes, but welcomes help identifying problems in residential areas.

“DMD crews are constantly looking for potholes around the city and with 4,600 miles of roadway to maintain, we could use the public’s help,” Chandler said in an email, adding that citizens can call 311 or use the OneABQ mobile app.

Winter storms tend to breed potholes, which crop up — or sink in — when conditions are wet and cold.

Moisture seeps into pavement cracks and saturates the area beneath the surface. The water expands as it freezes, worsening cracks. Then it melts, creating a void under the surface that invites more water, according to the American Public Works Association.

Per the APWA’s Pothole Fact Sheet: “Vehicles driving over the weakened pavement pound it until the surface breaks and collapses into the void below, thus creating a pothole.”

Chandler said the city has three or four crews fixing potholes continuously, working in daylight and overnight.

“We try to repair potholes on major roadways at night to minimize the effects on traffic even though that is not always possible,” he wrote.

BAG BAN ACTION? The Albuquerque City Council is slated to vote on a proposed plastic ban bag this week, according to the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting.

But Councilor Don Harris has requested an economic analysis of the legislation, which would also ban nonrecylcable takeout food containers and severely limit the use of plastic straws. No analysis has been done yet, and Harris said it is customary — albeit not a legal imperative — for the council to hold off on action until such an analysis is complete.

“Historically, the council has always deferred the bill if there is an economic analysis (request),” he said. SHRINKING PLAIN: Bernalillo County says it might be helping hundreds of property owners save money with its sweeping South Valley storm drain improvement project.

Nearly 300 properties were recently removed from the floodplain under map changes approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the county announced last week. That means “mandatory flood insurance will no longer be required for federally backed mortgages” on those properties, according to the county.

Properties removed from the plain are bounded at the south by Barcelona Road, west by Isleta Drain, and to the north and east by Armijo Drain.