Little Walnut Road Improvements to Continue this Summer; 32nd Street Nears Completion

Silver City -- With just one month to go before the official arrival of spring, Public Works Director Peter Peña and staff are gearing up for a new season of road improvements, while 32nd Street improvements slowly move toward completion, after construction delays, due to shallowly buried fiber optic cables.

"We're now looking at completing the improvements to 32nd Street by the end of March," said Peña. "It's taken the utility companies a bit longer than we anticipated to get those cables buried at the proper depth, so that we can move ahead with that project, Peña added, but we're close. We appreciate the community's patience through this process."

In April, the Town of Silver City will seek construction bids for the $3.6 million phase IV improvements to Little Walnut Road, a 1/2-mile stretch from just north of Chavez Lane to Jack Frost, Peña said. Funding for this project, which includes new pavement, improved drainage, bicycle lanes, drive pads, ADA-compliant sidewalks, signage and lane striping.

Peña and Silver City Town Manager Alex Brown have worked diligently for more than 20 years to complete improvements the length of Little Walnut Road, considered a major arterial roadway with economic development implications, due to its access to the Gila National Forest and the Little Walnut Picnic and Recreation Area. Challenges they face include the long, legal process of right-of-way acquisition, and the ongoing process of identifying and securing funding, which doesn't buy as much asphalt or contractor time these days.