If you live on or near St. Andrews Drive SE in Rio Rancho, you may feel like you just won a lottery. The road was just completely resurfaced, including new manhole structures. It’s just beautiful. And, frankly, it really invites dog-walkers, bikers and skateboarders. Imagine a smooth surface almost a mile long with speed bumps to deter speed demons.
St. Andrews was part of the Residential Rehabilitation Project, focusing on neighborhood roads. The project included – completed roads — Mackenzie Drive, Grande Court, May Circle, 37th Avenue and 18th Avenue.
In addition to these are 20 upcoming road rehabs at Pyrite Drive, Hollyberry Drve, Plum Road, Blackberry Road, Peach Road, Holyberry Court, Rebecca Road, Rebecca Court, Bramble Court, Estrellita Road, Poderosa Court., Lepus Court, Algodones Court, Bravo Court, Manzanita Court, Orbit Court, Hydra Road, Nova Court, Mira Court and Fiat Court.
To date, all completed road work has been finished on time and on budget. These projects were possible due to smart budgeting and were cash funded from the city’s general fund.
Reading this, you might be asking, “Why not my street?” The decisions regarding which roads to improve or repair are a result of city staff working together, considering what will be most efficient and effective for the community as a whole. By way of example, does it have high traffic? How poor is the road condition? Do the utilities need to be replaced? And many other deciding factors.
We all know fixing roads is a major priority issue in Rio Rancho. City staff along with the mayor and council members have focused their attention on this. And we, as a community, have seen great progress over the past five-plus years. As I have only lived here five years, I can only speak to those years.
So, let’s be patient and recognize the city’s efforts. I just want to impart kudos to the Public Utilities and Infrastructure team for a job well done.
Sue A. Prelozni
Resident and business owner
Rio Rancho