Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Santa Fe outlines road-rehab plan, cites $25 million geobond and new PCI program
Loading...
Summary
Interim Streets Division Director Marcos Esquivel told the Public Works & Utilities Committee the city's road-rehab program will be guided by a new pavement-condition index and funded in part by a $25 million geobond; FY26 planned spend is $9 million and a PCI vendor budget of roughly $300,000'$350,000 was proposed.
Interim Streets Division Director Marcos Esquivel told the Public Works & Utilities Committee on April 20 that the city's road-rehabilitation program will rely on a data-driven pavement condition index (PCI), multimodal Complete Streets standards and a primary funding source of a $25 million geobond.
"Currently, our $25,000,000 geobond is our primary source of funding for our road rehab over the next few years," Esquivel said. He said planned annual expenditures under that geobond for fiscal year 2026 are $9,000,000, with fiscal years 2027 and 2028 each projected at about $8,000,000.
Esquivel described the PCI as a performance and asset-inventory tool that will be procured via contract; the budget proposal to start the program is "approximately $300,000 to $350,000," he said. The PCI will allow staff to map and prioritize work, apply treatments matched to road condition, and share schedules with the public.
Esquivel updated councillors on the status of current projects: Airport Road work is moving into striping and has a year-to-date expenditure of roughly $5,500,000; Jaguar Drive work (Avenida El Nido to Paseo Del Sol West) has spent about $1,500,000 to date. He said the street team coordinates with utilities to avoid cutting into new pavement later and that some striping features will be staged to avoid rework when milling and reconstruction are scheduled.
Committee members pressed for KPIs and public-facing schedules. Esquivel said the 15% lane-mile preventive maintenance KPI stands at 0 for the current fiscal year because the program is funding-critical and reliant on one-time dollars; he said staff are working to publish maintenance schedules and sidewalk priority data online once the PCI and internal schedules are available.
A council member raised concerns about fairness for property owners who may be responsible for maintaining sidewalk easements, noting a prior ordinance change that placed such responsibility on property owners; Esquivel described the city's NOV (notice of violation) process, the option for residents to respond, and the city's ability to contract for repairs and place liens when necessary. Councillors asked staff to return a concise table summarizing KPI progress and timelines.
The committee had no public in-chamber comment on an unrelated land-sale bill and concluded with routine business. Esquivel said the department will expand data capabilities, secure more funding and improve public communication as next steps.
