Arroyo overflows in Santa Fe County causing a road to collapse
20 homes were affected there were no injuries
SANTA FE, N.M. —
An overflowing arroyo caused part of Marquez Ville Road in Santa Fe County to collapse Tuesday afternoon, leaving residents and contractors stranded and raising concerns about access and repairs.
Santa Fe County officials said the incident occurred around 3 p.m. when the arroyo overflowed, creating a large sinkhole and making the road impassable.
“Our concern was access and egress for the affected residents. Our crews called out additional staff to come out and just try to gain access to the area to identify the affected residents,” officials said.
The county reported that about 20 homes were affected. Residents returning from work were unable to reach their homes, while others, like Richard Martinez, were unable to leave.
“And I could hear the arroyo running. So I went to look at it, and people were trying to get out, and they couldn’t,” Martinez said.
Contractors working in the area also found themselves stranded, unable to retrieve their vehicles after the road collapsed.
“So what are you going to do? Well, actually, we don’t know. We don’t know yet, so we’re waiting. I know something happened where they tell us,” one contractor said.
Since Marquez Ville Road is a private road, the responsibility for fixing the sinkhole remains uncertain.
“So that’s something that we’ll be coordinating with County Works and seeing what is the next steps in the appropriate steps as this is all a private road,” officials said.
