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Public works director reports 495 miles paved and progress on NSIP; HMI phases and federal projects planned
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Summary
Director Gottlieb told the governing body Rio Rancho maintains about 495 paved centerline miles and has completed more than 70% of its original Neighborhood Streets Improvement Program work (about 109 centerline miles done, ~91.2 miles remain). Gottlieb outlined hybrid mill‑and‑inlay phases, TPF grant wins and an optimistic target for large federal projects to obligate in fall 2026.
Director Gottlieb gave the annual roads update, reporting that Rio Rancho maintains about 495 centerline miles of paved roads and about 116 miles of graded dirt roads. "We are now at 495 miles, centerline miles paved roads," Gottlieb said, and he broke that total into roughly 75 miles of arterial, 72 miles of collector and about 348 miles of local/residential streets.
Gottlieb reviewed the Neighborhood Streets Improvement Program (NSIP), saying the city completed roughly 109 centerline miles through in‑house phases and some contractor supplemental work and that more than 70% of the original backlog has been addressed; he said approximately 91.2 centerline miles remain to be completed. Gottlieb described the hybrid mill‑and‑inlay (HMI) pilot and subsequent phases, noting FY27 would propose HMI phase 4 to reduce the backlog by approximately six miles. On HMI vs. patch‑and‑seal he said HMI is more expensive but more durable and more attractive to contractors, while patch‑and‑seal remains a lower‑cost, stopgap treatment.
Funding and projects: Gottlieb said about 41% of roadway projects are funded with general obligation bond funds, with federal grants (Mid‑Region COG, USDOT, FHWA), state Transportation Project Fund (TPF) grants and general‑fund contributions making up other major sources. He noted the city successfully secured TPF grants for Barbara Loop (NM‑528 to Sarah Road) and Western Hills Drive (Southern Boulevard to Cavazone) and said staff expects to begin Barbara Loop construction in June and Western Hills construction in August, subject to final procurement and scheduling.
Large corridor projects: Gottlieb described progress on federally funded corridor projects such as Unser Boulevard and Southern Boulevard Phase 2. He said both require federal obligation and cooperative agreements with the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration; his optimistic schedule identified fall 2026 as an achievable target to obligate funds and move to bidding, while acknowledging the federal timetable could delay the start.
Constraints and lifecycle: Gottlieb warned of labor and contractor shortages that make patch‑and‑seal supplemental phases difficult to procure, and he said the city must balance going back to reseal earlier work against moving forward to address the remaining backlog. Answering a council question on lifespan, he said modern reconstruction and preservation approaches can push road life toward 20–30 years with proper follow‑up maintenance, and that crack seal has a limited useful life under local climate stresses.
Peer comparison and outreach: Gottlieb compared Rio Rancho to peer cities (Las Cruces, Santa Fe and Albuquerque) on road miles and revenue, noting Rio Rancho is similar to Las Cruces in paved miles but has less general‑fund revenue than some peers. He confirmed he would post the presentation online for public viewing and stand by to provide lists of candidate roads for HMI and patch‑and‑seal for each council district.
Council Q&A and next steps: Councilors asked for project timing on specific neighborhoods (Baltic), examples of expected costs and the performance life of treatments; Gottlieb answered that design timelines for some utility work extend the schedule and estimated in‑house design would start after May with multi‑month efforts for utilities in some projects. The presentation will be posted online and staff will return with detailed lists and schedules as projects are advanced.
