Money for S. Valley flood fix 'deleted'

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - It took county workers more than three hours to pump out what residents have now named Lake Barcelona at an intersection once on the state's list for major drainage improvements.

Residents said they cringe every time it rains because they know what’s about to happen next at Barcelona Road and Coors Boulevard SW.

“Five minutes of rain, it's a big lake right there,” Genaro Calderón said.

Calderón said every time it rains the water covers the entire roadway stretching from shoulder to shoulder.

On Wednesday the water was knee-deep and stretched for an entire block from Coors to Owen Road SW making it impassible for some.

“A lot of people getting stuck right there we have to push them out,” Genaro Calderón

Residents are outraged that this continues to happen and want

“They should have fixed it right in the first place, and that they didn't do,” Fred Smith said.

Smith and his neighbors have been waiting years for the storm drainage system that was promised by the state a few years ago. However the state Department of Transportation won't begin digging anytime soon.

“At one point there was some money set aside or the project was planned,” DOT district spokesman Phil Gallegos said.

The key words in Gallegos's comment are “was planned.” According to the DOT projects had to be cut after the economy took a plunge money washing money out of the budget.

Inflation several years ago also cut into planned work.

“We had to sit down, look at all the projects statewide, redistribute the money, and that project was one of the ones we had to delete,” Gallegos said.

For now county workers will keep on making this routine trip to pump out the water. Sandbagged utility boxes will continue to be a common sight.

While residents did not get their drainage system the state did fund new traffic lights for the intersection. Gallegos said that project was not cut because of its priority to help control traffic congestion from a nearby school.