Tribal Road 2 Reconstruction

KSA was selected to continue a second phase to a project that started reconstructing Tribal Road 2 from the Main Highway (State Hwy 47) to the residential and farmland uses in the rural part of Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico. The project involved taking an unpaved segment of Tribal Road 2 and designing a paved section to improve the vertical and horizontal alignment of the road. It involved adjusting the right of way assignments through the corridor to improve a deficient vertical curve, and to design proper roadside setbacks for maintenance and roadside safety per the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide. The project was completed through Preliminary Design. The Pueblo has not yet activated the completion of the design, pending additional funding and direction from Tribal Council.
 
KSA held extensive scoping meetings to determine the approach for correcting the alignment issues, as well as the approach for addressing drainage. The entire road is in a floodplain, but tribal entities are not subject to the National Flood Insurance Program in the same way as non-tribal municipalities are. However, the design intent involved roadside “recharge pits” that were designed to function like trenched french drains that retain runoff and encourage infiltration on-site. KSA facilitated several workshops at the Pueblo’s offices with all stakeholders.
 
The Pueblo had previously reconstructed a portion of Tribal Road 2 with federal funds. That design was evaluated and discussed in order to incorporate design elements that worked, and improve upon those that resulted in issues. For example, our design improved the radius of driveway entrance transitions to accommodate farm vehicles and large personal trucks. KSA had productive pre-design and design review meetings at the Pueblo, which resulted in specific feedback and very little rework.

To save money, KSA proposed narrower lanes (11’) to reduce speeds, lessen the amount of relocations/removals, this resulted in less materials than a standard 12’ width road. In addition, the recharge pits mentioned above were something new to the Pueblo that KSA Project Manager, Abiel Carillo, successfully used in the region prior to this project.