Stretch of Wyoming Boulevard Will Be Milled at End of Project

THIS ISN’T THE FINAL WYOMING: Steve asks via email “if the Wyoming Boulevard widening project is going to include smoothing out the surface of the roadway once the project is complete, milling possibly?”

Milling involves grinding up the top layer of asphalt, heating it and adding polymers, and laying it back down and compacting it.

Steve goes on to explain “the condition of the surface is extremely uneven, especially northbound between Burlison to Paseo del Norte; southbound is the worst between Paseo and San Francisco. These sections are bad in a car/pickup, but even worse on a motorcycle.”

Wilfred Gallegos, deputy director of the city’s Department of Municipal Development, says “one of the last parts of the Wyoming widening Phase Two project will be a complete mill and overlay of the entire stretch from San Antonio to just south of Paseo del Norte. This will give a new-asphalt feel to the road while we’ll be able to recycle some of the material they mill.”

Phase 1 of the Wyoming widening was from Academy to San Antonio/Harper. Phase 2 is adding a travel lane and bike lane from San Antonio/Harper to just south of Paseo del Norte, and is scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

THAT STREET NUMBER MAY SAVE A LIFE: And after a recent column addressed the non-addresses on buildings in Albuquerque, a local ambulance driver is weighing in.

“You mentioned street numbers, either absent or hidden away. You have no idea!

“I’m an EMT with Albuquerque Ambulance. The fire departments are usually first on scene at 911 calls. However, for those calls on which we are first, you wouldn’t believe the number of houses and businesses that have no street numbers, and sometimes one can drive for a whole block searching and searching for just a hint, so that one can at least get close!

“It is clear to me that enforcement has simply not worked. There are literally thousands of unmarked places in Albuquerque.

“In our basic training we are taught that even a minute or two can make a huge difference in a patient outcome. Perhaps a reminder to make sure that one’s home and/or business has a legible, easy-to-find street number will have more impact, if folks realize that in an emergency, we need to find you if we are going to help you.”

STOCKINGS WITH A PURPOSE: Cheeks emails “prior to the start of the current work on north Eubank, workers laid out what appear to be long fabric tubes filled with wood chips along the length of the work area. Do you know what these are for?”

Bernalillo County does.

David Mitchell director of Operations and Maintenance, says they are “a ‘silt filter’ for the project’s Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan for projects falling under National Pollution Discharge Elimination System guidelines.

“The Metro area is big enough that all its entities have to comply, and force local developer permits to comply, with higher federal standards than rural regions,” he says “It’s intended to stop mobilization of silt during rains on construction projects that ostensibly might make it all the way to the river. This job probably won’t have silt make it that far, but the county and city still maintain grates and storm pipes along Paseo that have a lot of silting problems, and ultimately that system does make it to the river. (An)other feature commonly seen on construction projects as a result of these requirements (is) rock turn-outs at public road driveway access points that clean off mud from the tires of exiting construction traffic.”

Assistant editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the metro area on Mondays and West Siders and Rio Ranchoans on Thursdays. Reach her at 823-3858; road@abqjournal.com; P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, NM 87103; or go to ABQjournal.com/traffic to read previous columns and join in the conversation.