Streets

ENGINEERING STREETS

DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

Juan Fuentes

DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING

Louis Najar

STREETS SUPERINTENDENT

Quinton Miller

2020 HIGHLIGHTS

24 employees Improved roads, parking lots and shoulders Cleaned up illegal dumping sites

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

The Streets Department is headed by Quin B. Miller as the Streets Superintendent and Frank Rincon as the Streets Supervisor. With 22 additional employees working in small crews or if needed combining crews to get the larger jobs finished. The crews cross-train to get the maximum value of the workday if others are missing due to vacation or illness. Helping other departments with equipment or manpower is something we will do very often, supporting the goals of the City in any way possible.

BASEBALL FIELD PARKING AREAS

With asphalt milling provided by the State Highway Department, the Street Department was able to cover gravel parking areas of the baseball fields. The milling spread evenly over the parking lot and then sealed with PEP oil to stabilize the millings and to provide dust control. This process of covering a parking area has worked in several areas of town to recycle material and provide a better parking area.

DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS

The Streets Department continues to provide the basic operations it always did in the past, some examples of quantities are listed here:

Cold Mix Asphalt to fill pothole 1058 tons used

¾” Gravel used mostly in alleys 2,006 tons used Road Base used in street & parking lot repair 359 tons used Milling used to upgrade parking areas 5981 tons used Hot Mix used for larger patches 13.07 tons used Poly Mix used 50 lb. bag 792 bags used Crack Seal units 30 lb. box 584 boxes used

Gravel Crushed for City use 9,784 tons

Road Base Crushed for City use 271 tons

Millings from State Highway Department 5,218 tons Sweeping Waste Material Removed from Streets 3,081 tons to landfill Tree removal loads 183 loads to landfill

Weed Killer applied to City Right of Ways 15,749 gallons

SHOULDER IMPROVEMENT

Millings applied to the shoulders of S. Main Street lessen the transition from turning vehicles turning into business or homes. The drop from the asphalt to the old shoulders could startle a driver that was not prepared for it and may contribute to an accident.

RESURFACING

The Nova Chip resurfacing of S. Main Street in February gave the daily commuters on the Southside a smoother and safer driving opportunity. Streets Department crew prepared the street by crack sealing, filling potholes & grinding high spots. Streets crews removed sediment in gutters, weeds in cracks and swept the road several times to prepare for this overlay. After the resurface the lane of traffic must be reestablished with reflective tabs in preparation for the stripers to remark all pavement marking in the City as part of the semiannual maintenance plan on pavement markings.

RESURFACING

Southeast Main Street was resurfaced with the cooperation of the State Highway Department. The process was to remove the top layer of asphalt, clean all loose material from the roadway surface, and replace it with a fresh layer of smooth asphalt.

Milling operation at SE Main Street & Hobbs Street.

New asphalt being laid down and rolled in on SE Main Street.

DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS

To keep traffic moving safely, water on the street must be allowed to drain off. Shown here is just one of many reworked drainage ditches the Streets Department maintains with the flow line and banks reestablished. This allows for quick drainage of water from the streets Also, the storm drains throughout the city are maintained by the Streets Department.

CLEANUP

A review of the accomplishments of the Streets Department during the year shows a lot of off-the-street service to the community. Using Streets Department loaders and dump trucks the unauthorized dump areas near Cielo Grande have been cleaned up and some of the unsightly brush and dead trees providing cover to the illicit dumping were also removed.

PARKING AREA

The Cielo Grande Park gravel parking area has been reworked by spreading milling, leveling the lot, and rolling the milling in. PEP oil is applied to stabilize and minimize dust.

AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT

Streets Department personnel and equipment supported Air Center operations of clearing areas of unused runways to be used for long term parking of aircraft.

REPAINTING STREET MARKINGS

Semi-annual remarking of streets provide a fresh look to city streets replacing markings covered by street resurfacing and providing a safer driving environment.

CROSSWALK VISIBILITY

Keeping crosswalks visible to motorists was a problem for the Streets Department starting with the required use of water-based paint for environmental reasons. The crosswalk would be painted and very quickly after traffic would turn the white paint to a dull gray. The solution to this problem is a process referred to as Thermal Lay. Plastic is heated in a hopper and precisely released in such a way to provide a clean line and glass beads can be added automatically to make the line more reflective at night. The width of the line can be adjusted and color changed to meet the needs of the job. Highway Supply was contracted to reestablish crosswalks on the major streets. This process included removing the old painted crosswalk, prepping the new area, and putting down the new crosswalks. The new crosswalk can be power washed to improve visibility if needed.

TREES

Large trees can sometimes be a danger to people on the bike trail or just going down a city street. Such as the case this fall when trees along the bike path and at 3rd Street and Garden Avenue were removed.

These well-established trees were a danger to anyone walking or driving by and hit by a fallen limb. The use of front-end loaders and dump trucks to remove the cut pieces was required due to the size and amount of cuttings. One of the trees removed was occupied by a very aggressive beehive that also was a danger to anyone passing by.

ROSWELL POLICE DEPARTMENT PARKING

The problem was the lack of longterm parking space and a large depression outside the back fence preventing expansion. The solution is to let the Streets Department build a pad with front-end loaders compacting the dirt as it was built. As shown here it is topped off with a layer of road base.

BERRENDO RIVER CLEANUP

An area of the Berrendo River basically from North Main St. to North Atkinson St. has been for years a collection point of dumped trash from various sources. Street department personnel remove the trash to protect the environment, keep it from spreading downstream and beautify this part of the City.