Spur Ranch Road Update_08/01/2014

Dear neighbor,

Here's the latest word on planned roadwork from Bob Sherwin, of Bionic Soil Solutions:

 

" I received an email from the contractor saying that they are running behind on the Pecos project as they get bedrock. They are now working seven days a week to avoid construction delay penalties of $1500 per day. They have to complete the project by middle of August and we will go straight to your road. I will keep you posted as I learn more. Thank you."

 

I'll let you all know as soon as the dates get firmed up.

Thanks,

Jim Garland

Spur Ranch Road Association

 

Spur Ranch Road Update 07_21-2014

Dear Neighbors,

A few days ago (July 16) we received word from Bob Sherwin of Bionic Soil Solutions that there will be a short delay on our roadwork, scheduled initially for July 25-27. Here is what he said:

 

"We are waiting on the contractor to fit it into his schedule.  He is in the middle of a parking lot and baseball field for Pecos High School.  I spoke with him yesterday asking when they thought their crew and equipment would be ready and he said another 2-3 weeks.  I will let you know as soon as I find out."  

           

            One possible snag: The Eldorado Area Water and Sanitation District (EAWSD) has implemented a Stage 1 water conservation alert and has informed us that they will not sell us water during this period, which will probably last through September. (The planned roadwork requires 30K-40K gallons of water.) We were shocked to learn this, since there is no mention of the water sales restiction in the published list of Stage 1 mandates. There is such a restriction in the Stage 2 alert, but that does not apply at this time.

            We explained this point to the EAWSD management, noting also that there are safety issues at stake because our road can be very slippery when wet, that our backup road (Ave. Compadres) is nearly impassible, that residents and emergency vehicles need to get in and out, that the large majority of residents along the road are customers of EAWSD, and that there are a variety of logistical reasons why we can't purchase water from the city or the county. As of today, our argument appears to make no impact on the EAWSD management, and we have contacted the governing board to ask for a policy exemption. We are pursuing other possibilities, and we are cautiously optimistic that reason will eventually prevail. We're asking for a miniscule amount of water that would make a negligible inpact on the EAWSD reserves.

 

One final request: We really need some volunteers to help out with traffic control during the roadwork period. I believe we have eight volunteers so far, but we have 24 three-hour shifts to fill. (The time periods are 7:00am-10:00am, 10:00am-1:00pm, 1:00pm-3:00pm, and 3:00pm-6:00pm, for three days, with one person at each end of the road.) So please consider helping us out. We’ll have a potluck/party at my house for the volunteers when everything is done. Thanks!

 

Regards,

Jim Garland

Spur Ranch Road Association

 

Spur Ranch Road Roadwork Update

Dear Neighbor,

I have received word from Mr. Bob Sherwin, of Bionic Soil Solutions (formerly RoadPacker), that the target for completion of the work on Spur Ranch Road between Rte 285 and the railroad tracks is now tentatively scheduled for the end of next month. Here are excerpts from his email received two days ago:

 

                "We will be doing the work in the next 3-4 weeks depending on the schedule and availability of the contractor.  He is currently working on a job and told me this morning that he will be available in 3-4 weeks and would be able to pin the start date down in the next 2 weeks as he sees his current project progressing.  

                Tentatively I would say it looks like the 25th - 27th of July.  However it may happen the week before.  I will keep you posted as soon as we are able to firm up the actual dates with the contractor.  

                He would like to do the work over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday as his crews are working 4 day weeks at 10 hours a day and off on Friday - Sunday.  He would have them work straight through the week on the days that we do your road.  We work with contractors that are certified in the installation process so I am subject to his availability.

                With the Bionic Road Solution product, we bring the moisture content up higher than the other [RoadPacker] product, so we are required to keep traffic off of the road for 24 hours while it is curing.  Consequently we would be doing one lane at a time.  I know that you have some road crossings along Spur Ranch Road that we will deal with as needed.  

                If it rains during the application process, it actually helps us as we like to keep water on i[the road] during the curing process as this reacts more like concrete than base course.

                Thanks for your help with the traffic control and staging areas.  I will probably invite the NM DOT and Santa Fe County personnel out to watch the application process."  

 

Here are the points to keep in mind:

(1) Roadwork is currently planned for Friday July 25 through Sunday July 27, although possibly a week earlier (July 18 through July 20). We will be informed of the exact date in about two weeks.

(2) The product needs to cure 24 hours (like concrete), which means that no vehicles can travel on the road during the curing time.

(3) Only one lane of SRR will be open for traffic while the work is going on. Volunteers will coordinate traffic movement, using walkie-talkies, as we have done before.  Please let me know if you are willing to volunteer for traffic control duty.

(4) At the end of the work day, roadwork machinery will be parked next to the mailboxes and near the RR tracks.

(5) Residents are encouraged to use Avenida Compadres and Avenida Eldorado during the roadwork, if at all possible. Throughout the night, the one open lane of SRR will be one-way only.

 

Thanks very much for your patience during this long saga.. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that soon we will have durable and smooth road to enjoy.

 

Regards,

 

Jim Garland, president

Spur Ranch Road Association

466-8833

 

 

 

 

 

Spur Ranch Road Update 05_26_2014

Dear Neighbor,

            The work on our road was postponed for a few days because of the rain (1.25 inches recorded at my house). The road is still a bit too wet, but work will resume this Wednesday, barring additional rain. As of today, the only work completed has been unloading of several truck loads of basecourse over a few hundred yards on the bad washboards East of Calle Junipero. The new bascourse has only been smoothed along the road surface to permit traffic to pass. It will be shaped, graded, and compacted once work resumes. As a reminder, it will probably take four days or so to complete work along the road.

Thanks!

Jim Garland, president

Spur Ranch Road Association

Spur Ranch Road Update and Status Report

Dear Neighbor,

            Tomorrow (Wednesday) or Thursday,  there will be road equipment working on our road, beginning at Rte 285 and moving the entire length of the road to the far west end. This work is being done by RedLine Excavating, with whom we have worked previously. The equipment will be grading, watering, and compacting the road, and also adding basecourse to some of the worst washboard sections near Calle Junipero. Unfortunately, we can not afford to make improvements on any but the very worst sections. The work will take several days to complete, so please be especially careful.

            The segment between Rte 285 and the railroad tracks (the RoadPacker-treated segment) is being graded as a stopgap measure, pending the completion of that portion of the road by Mr. Bob Sherwin of Bionic Soil Solutions. According to a memo received from Mr. Sherwin last week (May 14):

            "I understand everyone’s desire to complete the road as soon as possible.  The monsoon season is July and August and we are still on track to complete it before then.  It is now the middle of May and it was snowing just two days ago.  The weather is just now warming up to where we can begin doing applications as we want to be out of the freezing temperatures at night.  

            As we have discussed in the past, we will need to do Spur Ranch Road in conjunction with another project in the area when we have all of the equipment already mobilized.  As a result, I can not give you a firm start date at this time.  Once we start, it will take about 4 days to finish.  We will need to do one lane at a time and stay off of that lane for 24 hours as this product needs time to cure.  I know there are street crossings and we will deal with those as needed.  I hope this helps answer your questions."

            On a related matter, I received a worrisome phone call yesterday from a realtor who is very concerned about the road's condition. There is currently a significant number of homes for sale in our community, and this person said that potential buyers are very worried about the road's deteriorated condition. Most, he said, have said they will not consider purchasing property along the road for this reason. He says home values have already been harmed, and that unless there is a significant investment by the community in road maintenance, home values will be further undermined. In addition, he said that lenders are increasingly reluctant to give mortgages to homes whose access is via poorly maintained roads. On the plus side, he felt that the existence of a road association was very important to protecting real estate values, but he felt that the association’s budget (about $12,000 per year) and dues levels ($200-$275 per year, depending on location) were far too low, and well below those of comparable neighborhoods. For comparison, keep in mind that adding one mile of basecourse to the road costs $100,000 - $150,000.

            Finally, I received a report today of heavy construction machinery (including concrete trucks) using Spur Ranch Road to access Avenida Compadres (instead of coming south from Avenida Eldorado). The use of our road by construction vehicles violates an understanding between the county and developers along Compadres, who assured us that our road would not be used for that purpose. These vehicles seriously degrade the road’s already fragile condition. Please email me if you see inappropriate.

traffic along the road from construction vehicles. If possible note license numbers, type of vehicle, and any identifying information.

Thank you,

Jim Garland, president

Spur Ranch Road Association

466-8833

 

Traffic Accident on Spur Ranch Road

Dear Neighbor,

Late this afternoon there was a single car accident on the west end of Spur Ranch Road.  A car driven by a young man went off the road and was severely damaged and likely totaled. Fortunately, preliminary reports are that the driver was only shaken up.  According to the police officers at the accident site (there were three police cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance at the scene), the car was likely exceeding the posted speed limit (25 mph on that part of the road, 30 mph elsewhere), and the driver lost control because of the washboard ripples on the road.  At speeds in excess of the speed limit, a car is literally airborn as it skips over the road corrugations and has virtually no traction. At the speed limit or lower, the road may be bumpy and uncomfortable. but is safe to drive on. At higher speeds it is quite unsafe.

 

Ironically, the SRRA had already begun arrangements to have the entire road graded, We'll let you know as soon as we have a date for the work. In the meantime, please, please try to observe the posted speed limit.

Thank you.

 

Jim Garland

President

Spur Ranch Road Association

 

 

Spur Ranch Road cleanup 22 April, 2014

Tomorrow is Earth Day and the day we’re going to pick up all the winter’s worth of beer and water bottles along Spur Ranch Road.  Roberta and I will be out in our small John Deere with the orange trailer and will collect the materials from Silver Saddle to 285 on both sides of the road.  Our neighbour, Smokey from Rosa Linda, has already collected the debris from Compadres to Junipero on both sides of the road.  That leaves both sides of the road from Junipero to the tracks and from the tracks to Silver Saddle undone.  It’ll be good to see some neighbours out there picking up the plastic and glass bottles and other collectables.  Or, at least, wave to us as we do the collection tomorrow starting about  0830.

 

 

Al

SRR Association