Engineers assess flood damages
DOT forced to wait for water to recede

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — A state transportation department engineer said Monday in-depth and final analysis of damaged roads and bridges from the flooding Thursday will begin today, if possible.

Fernando Trujillo, assistant District 6 engineer with the New Mexico Department of Transportation in Milan, said there is so much mud that flowed from the thunderstorm runoff off of Mt. Taylor, on the east side of the county, the department is not yet able to get its equipment into place to begin making repairs.

State Route 124 has been closed off and on since Thursday because of the flooding, but was due to be reopened at 6 p.m. Monday, said Rosie Sais, public information officer for the district.

"With the portion of 124, from milemarker 18.6 to 19 being closed, there is a detour for local traffic through Paraje," she said.

"About $1 million for repairs to the bridge on SR 124 is about right, it's in the ballpark," Trujillo said.

"Of course, because of the water flow and mud, we have not yet been able to do a complete examination of the bridge," he said.

Engineers will check footings and support structures of this and other bridges on the east side of the county when water, which is continuing to flow because of daily thunderstorms, stops, he said.

There is a channel that runs along SR 124 into the valley on the south side of Interstate 40 at exits 102 and 104, Trujillo said.

"The berms and banks of that channel have been damaged a lot and water continues to flow there as well," he said.

A couple of bridges on the south side of the interstate have also been damaged. DOT was not able to provide the number of the Laguna Road where those bridges are situated.

Trujillo said one of those bridges may have to be completely replaced.

Box culverts under SR 124, the interstate and the road in Laguna have handled the water flow pretty well, Trujillo said.

Those culverts will also have to be examined to see if there is structural damage.

"We have people checking every day, but there is so much mud and water, we haven't been able to check spread footings or bases of structures and until the rain stops and the water recedes, there is going to be a problem," he said.

Spread footings on bridges are support structures that are "spread out" because there is no solid baserock to construct the bridge upon, Trujillo said.

On State Route 117, south of Interstate 40, between milemarkers 43 to 48-50, there are several areas where rain runoff has flowed across the road bringing a large amount of mud, Trujillo said. Cleanup in that area may run about $200,000, in a preliminary estimate, Trujillo said.

"The road has not been washed out though," he said.

On State Route 53, on the west side of Cibola County, near Milan, water that has pushed mud across the road and blocked traffic in previous thunderstorms during the monsoon did not do so this time, he said.

"There are no major problems there," he said.

Cibola County Public Works Manager Jimmy Chavez said county roads are in fair condition.

"We got lucky. None of our county roads were washed away, and we have already started cleanup," he said. There is no estimate of the cost of the cleanup for the county or the state as of Monday.

Sais said cost estimates for the state's roads would probably not be completed until next week because of the delays in getting structures examined for damage.

Chavez said he is working on getting the cost estimates together.

The National Weather Service in Albuquerque has forecast thunderstorms through at least Wednesday, adding the possibility of more flooding.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin call (505) 287-2197 or e-mail: tiffin.independent@yahoo.com