Bernalillo Commissioner Eric Olivas acknowledges that there are pretty poor road conditions in the East Mountains and is taking steps for a maintenance plan and budget for how to fix them.
“The number one complaint I get in my district is about roads, specifically in the East Mountains,” said Olivas. “I am trying to dedicate some money in the budget process, recurring money every year that will be a pot of money for the East Mountain roads maintenance.”
Olivas plans to discuss road maintenance issues in the East Mountains at the Bernalillo County administrative meeting on March 5 when the commission certifies the county’s 2024 road inventory. Every year the county certifies its inventory of roads they maintain.
While there is not a specific list of roads, Olivas said the process starts with key infrastructure. This includes main roads with heavy traffic, then fire stations and school bus routes. Another priority is preventative maintenance which includes keeping maintenance up to date before it requires a full replacement, followed by roads that need complete repairs or replacement.
“That is really up to the county staff to develop that kind of priority list,” Olivas said. “What I want to call out is the tremendous need and the big funding gap because we fund our roads with gas taxes and motor vehicle taxes. Gas tax has been declining as vehicles have gotten more efficient and with the electric vehicle transition, those revenues are just pretty much staying flat and declining every year.”
In January, Torrance County asked the legislature for $16.5 million to pave the county’s roads, which are mostly dirt roads. This was the county’s largest request because of concerns about the hazardous conditions of rural roads the school buses travel to transport students and maintenance costs the school buses may require.
Olivas said the process can be challenging because of the property and cost factors in deciphering which roads need to be prioritized.
“We will get a comment from the staff that a road will cost us $1.5 million and it is going to serve 15 properties but it may not even mean 15 residents, it is 15 parcels,” he said. “It is very difficult to advocate when you have other areas, for example, a South Valley street may have hundreds, if not thousands of properties along it for the same cost. It is just a different equation.”