Road crews battle more than weather

TIJERAS, N.M. (KRQE) - This morning it was too dangerous for buses to get Albuquerque Public Schools East Mountain students to school, and KRQE News 13 has learned crews are dealing with more problems than just the weather.

"Normally we have four trucks and four graders," said North Mountain Supervisor Rick Wafer of the Bernalillo County Public Works Department. "I'm down to one grader and two trucks.

"It's just kind of tough, but we get through it."

Because of the weather-related mechanical problems, many of the county's trucks are out of commission. It's also been too cold in the morning to start some of the diesel engines.

The staffing shortages--they are working with just three people instead of six--are due to transfers and open positions.

Saturday an employee flipped one of the plows. He has more than 20 years of experience, and his team says that proves just how bad conditions were.

He wasn't badly hurt.

Those crews are working 16-hour shifts around the clock trying to clear the roads so that kids, who've already missed two days of school, can get back to class.

Tuesday the sun came out and helped melt the snowpacked roads. Wafer predicted travel Wednesday will be a bit slippery but otherwise fine.

He says now they're concentrating on widening the snow-covered residential areas, and salting them to prevent refreezing overnight.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation also has five crews in that area. They are also rotating throughout the night to keep the roads as clear as possible.

Online:  KRQE.com Winter Weather Resource Guide