Year in review — Road project finished

Editor’s note: This is the third of three reports on the most compelling stories in the Portales area in 2014 as determined by the PNT staff.

Staff writer

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After more than two years and several weather delays, the U.S. 70 highway reconstruction project was mostly finished in 2014.

The project held up traffic and made getting to some businesses more difficult, but after it was completed, save for the landscaping and lighting, citizens were able to see their tax dollars at work.

Portales Public Works Director John DeSha said the project is substantially finished and all streets along the project’s path are open.

Mark Franken, parts manager at Big Valley Automotive along the highway, said he’s glad the project is done, but expected the delays that plagued the project during its construction.

“Those guys couldn’t control the weather,” Franken said.

Franken said the finished project has helped with the city’s appearance and made it easier to get around.

“In general I think it has helped a lot. The lighting is better and the parking is better on both sides of the street.” Franken said.

Even during construction, Franken said he thought the access to businesses was handled well by Constructors Inc.

“The way that they chose to do the street was excellent,” Franken said.

Others in Portales were relieved the construction had finished on the city’s roads.

Downtown businesses returned to normal with no construction to block entrances or stop lights to regulate traffic.

Do Drop In employee Terasa Allison said she felt safer crossing the streets after construction had finished.

Allison said getting in and out of parking spaces downtown is also easier because of the new stop lights.

“It’s awesome having two lanes again; it was rough with the construction going on,” Allison said in October.

The $8.3 million project was originally slated for an August 2013 completion, but snow and rain delayed the project and stretched the completion date to November 2014.

Construction workers are still working on landscaping along the highway and making their final checks.