Road Warrior: Who is tasked with cleaning up car crashes?

Mar. 25—Larry Linford asks who's responsible for cleaning up the glass and metal debris left behind after a car crash.

"It used to be that tow truck drivers were responsible for cleaning before leaving crash sites," Linford said. "Has this changed? These days detritus clutters the streets for weeks after a collision ... (posing) hazards to other drivers."

For the most part, that hasn't changed. But depending on the damage caused by the crash, different city and private contractors could help clean up the mess.

Vehicles and vehicle parts are supposed to be taken away by the tow company, said Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Franchesca Perdue. If a light post or traffic signal is damaged, Traffic Engineering or PNM are the people to call. Biohazards are handled by Albuquerque Fire Rescue.

If there's roadway dirt or gravel, or a bunch of small debris, the city will call a street sweeper.

PAVING ISSUE SURFACES: David asks why the half of Gun Club closer to Coors has recently been repaved, while the half closer to Isleta isn't.

He said in the 30 years he has lived in the area, he hasn't seen a repaving project for that part of the road. He said speed bumps were recently added, which has helped, but the street is badly in need of repair.

"I don't know why our half isn't paved," David said.

According to Public Works Road Maintenance Manager, Amor Solano, it comes down to ownership. The city of Albuquerque owns the half that David noticed was recently resurfaced; Bernalillo County owns the other half.

In an email to the Journal, Solano said the county has been pursuing surfacing applications to help maintain county roads. But no luck for Gun Club — Solano said that section isn't in the immediate plans.

As for why the speed bumps were added independently of a resurfacing project, Solano said a speed study found that traffic control devices were needed on east Gun Club last February.

"That process is independent from the road evaluations," Solano said. "Operations and Maintenance coordinates any road applications through Traffic Engineering to make sure improvements line up, but adding speed humps would not initiate a road improvement project."

GO WITH THE FLOW: The city-county Water Utility Authority advises that, starting today, crews are set to begin installing a large waterline valve at Montgomery and Morris in the Northeast Heights.

"This project will require two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane to be closed on Montgomery Blvd. east and west of Morris Street," the utility said in a news release. "Motorists traveling on Morris will not be able to cross the intersection and will only be able to make right-hand turns."

Work is expected to be done by April 12.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY: The Intelligent Transportation Society of New Mexico is offering a $1,500 scholarship for future traffic engineers, planners and other transportation professionals.

So if you're a student in a transportation-related field interested in making the state's transportation infrastructure a bit smarter, apply by April 10. That could include engineering, planning, computer science or policy development.

Applicants need to be undergrads at a New Mexico higher education institution who have completed at least one semester.