City spends over $6 million on utilities, sidewalks
Nizhoni Boulevard has been in some form of repair since March 2020, but now city staff are saying an end is in sight — at least for Phase 3.
THE HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
To begin fixing what is one of the major roads that goes through Gallup, the city first had to have someone design the project. The city awarded a contract to DePauli Engineering and Surveying for the design of the Nizhoni Boulevard Reconstruction project, for a total of over $350,000.
The main goal of the project was to make sure the sidewalks along the road were ADA-compliant, make storm drainage improvements, and make a dedicated northbound turn off Nizhoni Boulevard onto Second Street.
After the design phase was completed in May 2022, the city had the go ahead to start construction. Phase 2 officially started in October 2022.
Phase 2 saw Murphy Builders, Inc. begin work on the intersection of Nizhoni Boulevard and College Drive. That part of the project was finished in June and cost the city over $900,000.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
The most expensive part of the project so far has been Phase 3, which started in May 2023. Staff said that portion of the project has cost over $6 million so far.
The high price tag comes from the fact that Phase 3 concentrates on improving all of Nizhoni Boulevard’s underground utilities. It’s also when the sidewalks and curbs were looked at and made ADA-compliant. The entire road – expect for the intersection of Nizhoni Boulevard and Second Street — was resurfaced as well.
In an interview with the Sun Interim City Manager J.M. DeYoung said that the project as a whole has taken longer than city staff anticipated due to unforeseen circumstances.
When they began work on the underground utilities, they ran into New Mexico gas and Comcast phone and internet lines.
“Their lines were right in the middle of the trenches, and it took a long time to get them to move the lines out of the way,” DeYoung explained.
The construction crews also ran into a ton of rock when they excavated for the new water and sewer lines. One of the sewer lines was 25 feet underground, which added a different challenge.
Drainage was an additional issue, along with weather delays.
“I’m not going to complain about this, but we had a little bit more moisture this winter than in winters past, so that caused some delays,” DeYoung said.
With all that being said, DeYoung said the city hopes to complete Phase 3 by August.
FINISHING UP THE PROJECT
Right now, the northside of Nizhoni Boulevard is open to traffic, with the southside closed for construction while crews install wastewater lines and drainage. They will finish by milling over the service.
Then it will be on to Phase 4, the final part of the project, which will concentrate on the intersection of Nizhoni Boulevard and Second Street
DeYoung said the city will go out to bid for Phase 4 once Phase 3 is complete.
Staff Reports
