A new piece of equipment will ensure Alamogordo's city streets are clean and ready for motorists weekday mornings.

The City of Alamogordo Public Works Department recently acquired a new Elgin Crosswind 1 street sweeper.

“It is much simpler to operate than the old sweeper and it does a better job of picking up debris," City of Alamogordo Street Maintenance Technician Paul Voorbach said in a City news release.

The new street sweeper cost $265,000 and replaces a 10-year old machine.

"It’s a regenerative type sweeper, so basically it’s a vacuum with brooms to stir up the debris and it is vacuumed up to a chute and goes into the hopper (storage container) that way," City of Alamogordo Public Works Director Nancy Beshaler said. "The old sweeper is called a mechanical type, so basically it has a broom that sweeps the debris onto a conveyor belt that carries it up to the hopper."

This new street sweeper allows the City of Alamogordo to keep roadways cleaner.

The City has been without a street sweeper for three years due to the old one breaking down and the replacement being on backorder due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Beshaler said.

"This sweeper will allow the city to perform routine street cleaning," Beshaler said. "Without the sweeper the roads would continue to collect debris and the method for removal is labor intensive and time-consuming using shovels and laborers."

"The sweeper is needed to pick up dirt and debris that collects on the roadway," Beshaler said. "Regular sweeping helps extend the life of our pavement by preventing damage such as potholes and cracking from these substances."

The new street sweeper has fewer moving parts which makes it easier to maintain, Beshaler said.

Voorbach begins his shift at 4 a.m. each morning and does the businesses first due to the City noise ordinance barring unreasonable sounds between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The new machine will allow the cleaning of the entire city in five to six weeks.

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When Voorbach completes a round, he changes route and does a different cleaning pattern back across the city, Beshaler said.

The older machine took a little longer to complete a city-wide cleaning, Beshaler said.

The street sweeper is needed for several reasons, Beshaler said.

"Clean streets make the city more appealing," Beshaler said. "Sweeping reduces flooding risk by keeping gutters clean and allowing the water to flow efficiently. Particularly after rains, dirt and rocks can pile up on the roadways, which can be a hazard.  Keeping the streets cleaned also benefits the environment by reducing the debris that can flow into storm drain systems.  Dirty streets can also negatively impact the environment. After waste particles make their way onto streets, they can be carried into various ecosystems creating harmful conditions for animals."

Debris can also be hazardous.

"Debris can get scattered by cars, particularly small rocks that can damage vehicles," Beshaler said. "Debris on the roadways can be hazardous to pedestrians, runners, and cyclists swerving to avoid debris. "

Alamogordo residents can ask for their street to be swept by calling the City of Alamogordo Public Works Department at 575-439-4240.

The old street sweeper was a 2012 model that was scheduled to be replaced in 2022. It had more than 35,000 miles on it and more hours of run time due to the time it took to work.

Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter.

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