A large crack along the South Domingo Baca Arroyo wall just east of Ventura Street was likely caused by temperature changes.
Scott Cilke, spokesperson for the city’s Department of Municipal Development, said in an email that there may be other locations where damage has occurred due to high heat, but he is currently focused on the arroyo.
“Due to changes in temperature, the concrete in arroyos (and other places, too, but we’re focused on arroyos for this) expands and contracts, and as it over-expands in high heat, it can result in cracking,” Cilke said. “It is very rare that the cracks are as bad as this one, so our department is working with AMAFCA to research it and find out why it happened (this severely in this case) and what we can do to not only fix it, but hopefully prevent it from happening with this severity again in the future.”
AMAFCA stands for Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority. When asked about the damage to the arroyo during a phone call earlier in the week, AMAFCA deferred the problem to Municipal Development. The damage was reported to the city on Monday, July 21, by a Heritage East resident. A neighbor reportedly heard a large explosion in the area on Sunday, but it is unknown if it was related to the damage or when the damage occurred.
