Robert Crossno:  

Having made a poor and unsuccessful first attempt to go to college (too much party), I returned to Santa Fe to work (and party). I didn't lose that habit until five years later when I moved to Albuquerque to get a degree and to find better work. Now, after all these years working in Albuquerque and after the financial melt-down of 2008, I find myself living in Albuquerque, but working in Santa Fe. I guess it figures. It's kind of strange working in the old highway department building on Cerrillos Road, typically known by NMDOT personnel as the General Office or the GO. I first visited that building shortly after it was built with my father to meet with a family friend, L.D. Wilson, when he was the Chief Engineer of the NMSHTD. When I worked for District 5, I often met people at the GO. Later, I was the structural and civil engineer of record for three successive renovation/remodeling projects of the GO: (1) remodeling the building to meet ADA handicap access requirements, (2) demolishing the Chief Engineer office suite, the Board Meeting room and the Auditorium to converting them to general office space, a secured office with impact-resistant viewing window and safe and (3) safety inspection and load-rating of t...Expand for more