City Services

The City of Roswell Engineering Department works on various projects simultaneously. Currently there are 10 open projects, each project at different stages. In this blog we will discuss a few of the projects and their current status. 

The Roswell Air Center area Water Reservoirs project began in November 2019 with an original end date of April 2021.  This project is in the works following a Master Water System Study. This study found that the current reservoir, built in 1942, would not provide ample fire protection for current and future development. This project will remove the existing tower and build two towers in order to keep one tower operational when the other is under maintenance. The total cost is $6,148,749.66. 

Each tower is on a different timeline. The Gillis Street tower located next to the current tower has the steel tank lifted into position. Lifting those tanks is no small feat – 14 synchronized jacks with a steel cable were used.The entire process took three hours because the tank was lifted 8 inches at a time. Up next for this tower is welding the roof and prepping the paint crew. Based on the project schedule, this tower should be operational in January 2021.
 
Currently the contractor for the second tower is completing the concrete pedestal. This tower is located at West Martin Street. Tank pieces will be welded together while still on the ground. That welding will begin in August. 

The North Garden Bridge Reconstruction project started in January 2020. This project will replace the existing bridge on North Garden, which crosses the Spring River. This was the city’s worst rated bridge in past New Mexico Department of Transportation inspections. This project includes the construction of a double 10-feet-by-12-feet concrete box culvert, widening of the top of the bridge to include a sidewalk and railing for the safety of pedestrians.
The box culvert is completed and concrete is being placed to tie the “box wings” to the existing river channel. In August, backfill and road construction will begin. The total cost of this project is $911,237.47. 

COVID-19 has delayed many things and engineering projects are not free of the delays. The North Main Street/Country Club Road Traffic Signal Replacement project is one of the projects affected. The delivery of parts necessary to complete the $480,000 project are delayed due to the pandemic. However, by Aug. 3, the six-week project is expected to begin. 

The Roswell Water System Valve project is also affected by COVID-19. This project will remove and replace existing large-diameter water valves. Preliminary excavation and measuring existing pipe diameters is complete. The project will hit the next phase with the delivery of necessary parts. The delivery is slow due to COVID-19 shipping time. The project should be completed in March 2021.  

Future updates on engineering projects will continue to be posted as projects progress.