By Roger Lanse

According to Brian Torres, Project Manager for the NM Department of Transportation, the Highway 90 Bridge is scheduled to open in early December. €œWe €™ll still have some other work to do, but traffic will be flowing back over the bridge in the early part of December. We €™re within our 210-day time-frame. €

Drilling the shafts for the supporting pier columns should be completed by the end of July, according to Johnny Macias, Project Manager for the contractor, ISC. €œWe €™re moving along. € Work on the pier caps and abutments continues, Macias said.

There have been no delays due to weather, Torres stated.

According to Torres, a blog rumor has been circulating that the contractor was pumping concrete and concrete water out of a shaft. €œThat is not a true statement. What was coming out of there was perched water, and granite dust was what was coloring the water. I haven €™t seen a pump yet that could pump concrete out of a hole. €

The concern on the part of the blogger seemed to be that concrete water was being allowed to go into the creek, according to Filiberto Castorena, Assistant District Engineer.

€œSo now they €™re pumping it into a little retention pond that was there and it will evaporate out, € Torres said.

Castorena emphasized that it was good for the public to voice these concerns so NMDOT can provide an explanation or take corrective action. €œWe encourage people to speak if they have a concern. €

In answer to a question from the audience, Torres said that they were still working on getting a message board and are putting up more signs to direct traffic.

These informational meetings, on the second Wednesday of the month, to update residents on progress of the bridge project will continue whether there are one or 100 people in attendance, according to Torres.