Streets to undergo draining, widening work

Several streets on the north side of Portales are undergoing what city officials say is a much-needed street drainage channelization and infrastructure project.

Christina Calloway: Portales News-Tribune

Richard Esquibe of K. Barnett and Sons brushes out the new curb on North Avenue M.

The near $490,000 project, funded by a Community Development Block Grant, will add curbs and gutters to the streets of West Gum, North Avenue M and Ivy as well as providing infrastructure improvements.

CDBG grants are used to fund projects in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods.

According to Susan Baysinger, capital projects administrator of Portales, the city paid about $42,000 in its match to fund the project.

Baysinger said the city surveyed the project area in 2010. The streets' issues were then brought up in several public meetings to be addressed, according to Baysinger.

"Every year the (city) council is asked to support CDBG funding at the federal level," Baysinger said. "There's only so many portions of town that are applicable. A lot of times those areas of town are brought up in public meetings."

According to Baysinger, the process begins with considering the project area, looking at the needs of that community, gathering public input and then waiting for the city council to approve it.

Portales Public Works Director John DeSha said adding the curbs and gutters to these streets will make them drain much better.

"We try to improve where we can," DeSha said.

The North Avenue M area of the project has additional work being done in addition to curbs and gutters.

According to Chris Cordova, water control specialist, the city is widening the street about 6 to 8 feet for the added school traffic from buses that travel through there to and from Lindsey-Steiner Elementary School.

"It was bad before, you had people backed up for quite a while behind school buses," Cordova said. "This was somewhere you did not want to be at three in the afternoon."

DeSha and Baysinger agreed that the city plans to continue applying to CDBG grants.

"We have many areas that can benefit from these projects," DeSha said.

Baysinger said this project is the fourth CDBG-funded project within the last 12 years. She added that the previous projects have shown success.