Flagged down: Sedillo Residents' year of wrangling with DOT to restore Old Glory

Sedillo residents won’t wave the white flag when it comes to placing the Stars and Stripes on Interstate 40.

They claim the state Department of Transportation has given them the runaround as they attempt to return two flag poles and two flags to a location they had flown with no issues for more than 20 years.

Dan Patterson and Kelly Lang reside in the Sedillo area, a Bernalillo County community 30 minutes east of Albuquerque. They say they have been battling with the DOT for over a year to get the flags replaced. The struggle began in summer 2023, when Patterson was returning home from a trip and noticed their absence.

“I looked, and the flags weren’t there, and I felt a twinge in my heart because I go that way an awful lot and I always felt proud of those flags,” he said. “I put on the Nextdoor app that I missed the flags, and Kelly responded and said she missed them, too, and would like to see them up.”

For several years, a local veteran — William Debuck — had flown American flags on the east and west sides of the I-40 overpass at Sedillo Hill. After he died, utility company Entranosa Water flew the flags in his stead. According to residents, neither Debuck nor the water company had asked for permission prior to flying the flags.

“They just kind of hooked them to the bridge and continued flying them where the original guy had flew them,” Lang said. “I guess Entranosa got tired of people complaining that the flag was not lit or the flag was not down in inclement weather. They quit flying the flags, and it’s been two years since then.”

Jack Crider, CEO of Entranosa Water, said it was an employee who decided to take over the responsibility.

“They actually strapped metal poles to the fencing on the overpass and then hung the flags on it,” Crider said. “Nice gesture, but extremely dangerous. It’s an extremely windy hill up there, and several times those poles would break and a few times they almost actually went down on the freeway.”

Crider added that complaints from residents and costs associated with flying the flag under DOT requirements made Entranosa decide to take a step away because “it got to be a little ridiculous.”

“We did it for 20 years and it’s time for somebody else to do it,” Crider said. “We’re a water provider, not a flagraiser. We quit doing it just because of the danger and I did not want to have something happen to one of my employees changing out the flags.”

Traffic engineer for the District 3 Office of the DOT, Nancy Perea, who fielded all calls from Lang and Patterson, said the department has standard procedures to get a project such as this approved.

“The NMDOT has several avenues for public requests for use of state right-of-way. Depending on the request, these include, but (are) not limited to, Landscape Permit and the Gateway Monument Guidelines,” Perea told the Journal in statement. “The language within an agreement and permit identifies stakeholder responsibilities. Usually, the requestor is responsible for any private-owned installations within state right-of-way, including but not limited to, maintenance and upkeep.”

When asked how long the process typically takes, Perea said, it “depends on the request and the volume of requests that are received. Internal DOT coordination and evaluation is usually needed.”’

Lang and Patterson ultimately decided to take the issue upon themselves and ask the DOT to put the flags and flagpoles back up.

“Dan (Patterson) and I were talking and we wanted to go about this the legal way, so we got ahold of the DOT and they wanted drawings, aerial photography and photos,” Lang said. “I had been talking with (Perea) for over a year, and we’ve been sending correspondence and measurements and hand-drawn maps and aerial-drawn maps and all this stuff. I’ve been pursuing this for a year and a half now, and it’s one little thing after another. They have us running in hoops and circles for it, and it’s really gotten frustrating.”

DOT said anybody who requests installations is fully responsible for providing materials for the project.

“The NMDOT strives to provide a safe environment for all modes of the traveling public which consists of evaluation of any request within state right-of-way,” Perea said.

Through a year and a half, Patterson and Lang got together and, with the help of the Sedillo community, were able to obtain the required documents, along with the flags, poles and structural engineering designs created by Sean Melville, senior vice-president and structural engineer from Bohannan Huston.

The duo also did research on the proper poles, flags with a stronger durability and the proper lighting for flags. Over time, residents in the area donated to the cause — the donation pot sits at roughly $2,000. With material and upkeep costs, the total project will cost an estimated $3,000.

Patterson is hopeful that with more volunteers and help, the community will reach its goal to get the flags back. Patterson said the money will not be used until they receive a final approval from the DOT to buy materials and begin the project. If approved, citizens will be able to move forward on construction for the flag pole.

As of now, state DOT officials have no information on when or if the flags will fly again.

“I think the DOT District 3 is stonewalling this process,” Patterson said. “We’ll put in what we need to put in to get it done. That’s all. We’ll find a way.”