Los Alamos County highlights public works during national appreciation week
Ashley Pond Park got a fresh reminder of public works’ reach as county crews reinstalled jersey barriers, while 151 staff kept roads, water and transit moving.
Jersey barriers were headed back to the southern side of Ashley Pond Park on Saturday, a small but visible sign of how much Los Alamos County depends on public works crews to keep daily life safe and moving. The county said the barriers were a critical safety measure, and the work fit the larger point of National Public Works Week, which runs May 17-23 and spotlights the systems residents usually notice only when something goes wrong.
The American Public Works Association set this year’s theme as “Rooted in Service, Powered by Community,” a phrase that lands especially well in Los Alamos, where commuting, utilities and municipal services can affect school pickups, deliveries and the workday almost immediately. Roads, water systems, fleet operations, facilities, parks and transit all depend on crews that rarely get public attention, but whose work becomes obvious the moment a road closes, a pipe breaks or snow and ice slow down a route.
Los Alamos County Public Works is organized into nine divisions: Administration, Airport, Custodial, Environmental Services, Engineering and Project Management, Facilities, Fleet, Traffic & Streets, and Atomic City Transit. The county said in its 2025 public works week coverage that the department had 151 dedicated employees, a force that averages about 17 people per division and covers far more than road work alone.
That behind-the-scenes responsibility shows up in county planning as much as in field work. The county posts a 2026 Snow and Ice Control Plan, a 2021 Pavement Management Analysis and a 2025 Pedestrian Master Plan, documents that underline how much of local life depends on careful maintenance and long-range planning. In a town where winter weather, street condition and sidewalk safety can shape routines quickly, those plans matter as much as any ribbon-cutting.
Eric Martinez, who has served in multiple leadership roles with Los Alamos County since 2015, is the Public Works Director. His department’s own description says it works to maintain a high quality of life through cost-effective, environmentally sound service delivery and strategic planning, a mission that fits the county’s emphasis this week on the people who keep the community functioning.
National Public Works Week has been observed during the third week of May since 1960 and was formally proclaimed by President John F. Kennedy in 1962. Los Alamos County marked the observance again in 2025, and this year’s spotlight comes with a more concrete reminder: at Ashley Pond Park and across town, public works is what keeps the visible and invisible parts of Los Alamos connected.
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