Towering weeds, some 15 feet tall, are growing out of control on properties owned by the state transportation department.

The properties were purchased years ago near the BNSF railway for a major road and railway project, according to KOB.  But construction at those sites won’t begin until next summer.

In the meantime, area residents complain the state has done nothing to maintain the land, allowing weeds to flourish and providing shelter for criminal activity. NMDOT told KOB two weeks ago it was “working on sending a maintenance crew” to clear the properties, but nothing has been done.

“I haven’t seen BNSF, the Sheriff’s Department, anybody to come by even to investigate the weed problem themselves,” Steven Ferguson, a concerned Belen resident, told KOB. “I reached out to try to get an update as to what the construction timeline might be, and I had not heard back.”

Neighbors say the thickness of the weeds offers a shield to conceal vandals, who are entering the abandoned homes.

“All the criminals that are around here come by almost nightly to break into these houses,” Ferguson said. “There’s not much to break into anymore. The D.O.T. did have a contractor come out and board them up, but they tore them off and have removed doors, and broken windows. They’ve gone into the houses and are stripping out all the wire. They’ve loosened all the countertops. Things are missing. There’s quite a bit of vandalism going on here.”

NMDOT told KOB it plans to tear down the houses in November. A maintenance crew could clean the lots, but the department said it is short on manpower and it could take another two weeks. Ferguson said something must be done now.

“This is unacceptable there. I don’t know who’s sitting on the money and not taking care of the properties, something needs to be done,” he said.