Transportation funding project to help improve Superman Canyon Road
If Rodney Skersick has anything to do with it, pretty soon McKinley County citizens will no longer have to deal with Superman Canyon Road closing any time it rains.
During the May 18 McKinley County Commissioners meeting, Skersick, the county’s road maintenance supervisor, asked commissioners if he could apply for the Transportation Funding project that the New Mexico Department of Transportation provides once a year.
In an interview with the Sun, Skersick said that he hopes to get $2 million from the state, and that the money will go toward improving Superman Canyon Road.
“[… This] is a pretty major road going into Gallup,” Skersick stated. “It’s a well-traveled road, and when that wash is running and everyone has to go around, it’s approximately 20 miles around to get to the other side.
“So, if you’ve got medical issues, anything law enforcement, ambulance, or fire issues, it’s really a burden, because it takes a lot longer to get there.”
Skersick explained that the road department plans to install a giant culvert pipe that will be about 16 feet high and 16 feet wide. Multiple pipes are going to be installed, to help get the water off the road.
The Transportation Funding money is shared by all 33 counties of the state, so the DOT has to decide how to divide it up. Skersick said he feels confident that McKinley County will get the money it needs.
Many road projects did not get done last year since a lot of the funds were frozen due to the pandemic. McKinley County received $3 million in 2019, and that money was used to fix up the bridges on Manuelito Canyon Road. Skersick said the Roads Department is still working on that project.
The commissioners gave Skersick permission to apply for the county funding. Skersick said it is due June 14, and that he expects the money to come in sometime in August.
STRONGER TOGETHER
The pandemic was a learning curve for everyone, but no one knows this more than Evan Williams, the Executive Director of the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments. In a press release posted on the Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation’s website on May 11, he explained how COVID-19 impacted McKinley County in ways people weren’t expecting.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined and exacerbated the cracks in our systems, economy, and social fabrics,” he said. “This crisis reminded us all that we are related and connected – the virus did not discriminate, nor did it abide to the jurisdictional boundaries and lines on a map.”
In going along with this theme of togetherness, Williams spoke at the May 18 commissioners meeting about the COG’s Stronger Together Coalition and tried to get the county to join the initiative.
In an interview with the Sun Williams explained that COVID really allowed the county to see the holes in the fabric of its infrastructure, such as the broadband situation, the Indian Health Service hospital, and the Navajo water supply.
The COG created the Stronger Together coalition with these issues in mind. The coalition has included executive directors of different local organizations. Williams explained that the coalition was put in place so that when the time comes to advocate for those aforementioned projects, among others, the COG will have built-in letters of support and partnership.
He stated that a lot of federal funding could be coming to McKinley County, including the American Rescue Plan Act and the American Jobs Act. When and if these funds are made available, the coalition will be able to help COG show the federal government why McKinley County and the surrounding areas need those funds.
Williams said he wants local organizations to “put their hands in the huddle” and help out.
The commissioners signed off on the resolution to have the county join the initiative.
By Molly Adamson
Sun Correspondent
