DRIVING AROUND IN THE DARK: Bernadette P. Koh wants to know “is there anyone in the department of safety that drives the streets at night?”
Her email says “if there was, they would be able to identify the outrageous number of street lights that are out, especially on major roads and intersections. There are sections of Montgomery and San Mateo that have no street lights. The intersection of San Mateo and I-40 is dark. It’s no wonder that Albuquerque ranks the highest in pedestrian deaths. The answer that has been given at times is to ‘call it in,’ yet driving these streets at night makes that practice dangerous.”
HOW TO REPORT A STREETLIGHT OUTAGE: Raymond G. Sandoval, director of corporate communications and brand management for PNM, says the utility “and other streetlight owners (such as the city of Albuquerque, etc.) find out about streetlight outages by those outages being reported by customers/the public. The best way to report a streetlight is out is to go to PNM.com/streetlights and fill out the outage report online form. All stakeholders who own streetlights are connected in the system that we call SORT, which is the system customers report to” on that website.
“Once a streetlight is reported out,” Sandoval says, “the owner of that streetlight will be notified, and the process of getting that light back on begins. Another option is for customers to call PNM at 888-DIAL-PNM, 1 (888) 342-5766. They can then speak with customer service and report the outage. A customer service rep will most likely ask for info such as location of the light – nearest intersections or noticeable landmarks – pole number, etc. The customer service rep then enters in the report through SORT and the owner of that light will be notified, and the process of getting that light back on will begin.”
WHAT’S UP WITH THAT TRAMWAY BRIDGE WORK? Wallace Anderson asks in an email “why the portable sign near Tramway and Spain has been in place over nine months considering work on Tramway overpasses has already been completed 3 miles south of Tramway? Wouldn’t this large sign be of better use located near construction? Who monitors these road signs and places them where they are of some use?”
Kimberly Gallegos, who handles information for the state Department of Transportation’s District Three Office in Albuquerque, explains that “although this portable message board may seem far from where construction work is taking place at this time, signage such as this is required in the MUTCD handbook (Manual on Uniform Traffic Devices) per the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The message boards are required to stay up through the duration of the project. This message board is in the clear zone, not obstructing anything and will remain until this project is complete.
“Our crews are working on the project daily and will continue to check traffic control and signage,” Gallegos adds.
So what, exactly, are crews doing?
Gallegos explains the $3.5 million project includes “preserving and/or rehabilitating four timber thru-arch bridges that carry the multi-use trail over Tramway Boulevard/N.M. 556. Tramway is a major north/south roadway corridor that serves the east side of Albuquerque along the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, where green space and recreation meet city life. Over many years of weather activity and normal aging, the bridge decks have deteriorated. In July 2013, a fire damaged a portion of Bridge No. 8554 located south of Candelaria and the bridge was repaired. Since then, the district has received numerous compliments on the surface treatment used to replace the deck on that bridge.”
Crews have been doing preservation on Bridge No. 8554 near Candelaria, and rehabilitation on Bridge No. 8552 near Comanche, Bridge No. 8457 near Rover and Bridge No. 8458 near Copper. The work is scheduled for completion in spring 2023.
Editorial page editor D’Val Westphal tackles commuter issues for the metro area on Mondays. Reach her at 823-3858; dwestphal@abqjournal.com; or 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM, 87109.
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