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Repairs on I-40 infrastructure damaged by water halted by rising water
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The San Pedro bridge over Interstate 40 was set to reopen Wednesday after debris carried by rainwater runoff smashed into a structural support in the drainage channel the day before. However, crews were unable to assess the extent of damage to the arroyo and other road infrastructure due to rising water levels.
The San Pedro bridge support, which was struck by a large piece of concrete washed down by the raging waters, passed a safety inspection and was expected to reopen by Wednesday evening, said Kimberly Gallegos, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Department of Transportation.
NMDOT, the Arroyo Flood Control Authority and the city of Albuquerque are working on the repairs.
“We’re all working together to get this remedied as soon as possible,” Gallegos said.
But Mother Nature is getting in the way.
Work crews brought specialty equipment, such as jackhammers and a dump truck, through the tunnels attached to the drainage channel. Crews started to break apart the concrete that got stuck by the San Pedro bridge support and began to haul it away when they were notified by crews positioned upstream — around Louisiana and Eubank — that water levels were rising.
The equipment was moved and the crew stopped work to err on the side of caution, Gallegos said. When water levels go down, the crews will return and prioritize assessing the condition of I-40 infrastructure.
