Albuquerque’s streets are cracking under pressure — literally.
The city faces a backlog of 1,000 crack sealing requests from residents across the Duke City, despite spending $1.4 million on contractors this year.
At the Oct. 6 City Council meeting, Department of Municipal Development (DMD) Director Jennifer Turner said road repair requests have surged across all nine districts, creating a growing backlog for her understaffed department. DMD oversees 4,676 lane miles of city streets and now fields about 60 new requests a day, with months to clear the backlog.
“I put my whole foot in one [crack] the other day, that was at least 12 inches,” Councilor Dan Lewis said, adding that neighbors are “losing their minds over” road conditions.
Councilor Renée Grout, who operates a vehicle repair shop in the International District, said she regularly sees newer cars with low mileage suffering blown mounts and struts from road conditions. “It’s because of the deterioration of the roads,” she said.
Miles of neglect
Turner put the numbers in perspective for the council members and residents, “DMD is responsible for over 4,600 lane miles of road — enough pavement to get you from Albuquerque to Disney World, all the way up to Portland, Maine, back to Florida, into Albuquerque again. So that’s a lot of pavement.”
Crack sealing is a preservation treatment that helps avoid costly repairs and time-consuming treatments, according to Turner. Without it, water seeps into small cracks and eventually forces the city to grind down and replace entire road surfaces.
Turner said crews are working overtime, other crews have been reassigned to help, and the department recently issued a purchase order for additional contractor support. The contract has been signed and is awaiting final purchasing approval, expected within one to two weeks.
The crack sealing crew has 10 employees when fully staffed, but only seven positions are filled. A full crew can seal about a mile of road a day.
Councilors find cracks
The scale of the problem led councilors to ask how the department plans to tackle the backlog, manage budget limits and prioritize repairs.
Lewis questioned whether street maintenance should compete with other city budget priorities.
“Should this be competing with other budget items?” he asked. “There are certain things that are just essential … especially since we know how much they cost.”
Lewis asked Turner for an estimate on how long it would take to clear the backlog, even with an additional contractor.
Turner said clearing the backlog will take three to six months, with winter being ideal for hot-mix asphalt work.
Lewis pressed Turner on whether the city budgets adequately for road maintenance. “Do we have the budget to not only clear the backlog but also maintain a sustainable program?” he asked.
Turner replied, “I think every department director would say, ‘Sure, there is unlimited money.’ We would want more funds, but we have to live within our budget. Right now, I’m actually three employees down in my crews, so my first priority is filling those vacant positions so we can be fully staffed.”
She said the department uses a first-in-first-out approach, with urgent safety concerns taking priority.
The city spends about $1.3 million on materials and crew salaries, plus $1.4 million this year for contractor work, Turner said.
The department uses Dismuke Construction Company to provide supplemental crack sealing.
Councilor Nichole Rogers questioned the single-contractor approach, suggesting “multiple contractors” could help clear work faster, but Turner said using one contractor “makes it more efficient to manage, we’re not having crews chase other crews all around the city.”
Report your road
“In DMD, we maintain more than 4,600 lane miles of road and our crews work around the clock to keep our streets safe,” Turner said. “If you have a crack sealing request, or any other request, we ask that you call 311 to report it so our crews know to follow up.”
Residents can also use the ABQ311 Web App or go to the DMD Street Repair Request page.