Residents press Mesilla for independent review after erosion, landscaping failures on University Avenue project

At the July 13 meeting, resident Beverly Estrada presented photos and professional observations alleging sediment and runoff from the recently completed University Avenue walking path are killing trees and landscaping on adjacent private property and may be undermining an underground culvert. She asked the town to obtain an independent civil or geotechnical engineering review, citing observed "pockets" beneath the path, potholes, and sediment washing into yards. Estrada also said some contractors may lack GF-3 or GF-4 licenses for culvert and underground drainage work and requested records via IPRA.

"The sediment and runoff coming from the asphalt is causing the erosion that is killing the trees, the grass, and the plants," Estrada told trustees. Mayor Russell Hernandez said the town would follow up with NMDOT, noting the path and many associated features remain DOT infrastructure under existing maintenance agreements, and he will seek the contractor punch-list and status of remediation. Trustees and staff discussed the possibility and cost of an independent town-funded engineering review; no immediate funding decision was made at the meeting, but staff committed to further follow-up and to try to obtain the DOT punch-list and any missing documentation requested by residents.

Residents urged the Board to act because they said visible damage appeared within weeks of project completion. Trustees requested staff provide the NMDOT master punch-list and consider whether the town’s on-call engineers should review the site.