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Last weekend's rupture of a vital Albuquerque water main pipe, under Paseo del Norte near Second Street, should be taken as an important warning and a signal for future comprehensive action.

The rupture, which closed Paseo in both directions for a short time and westbound for several days while emergency repairs were made, is an example of just how fragile much of our underlying, aging infrastructure is.

The break resulted in a huge sink hole that literally swallowed much of the roadway, making it impassable. It complicated repairs and left commuters in the lurch.

This is not just an Albuquerque or New Mexico problem, but a national issue that affects roads, utilities, water and sewer lines and bridges. Sooner or later it is going cause a lot a grief and ultimately will cost tons of money to fix.

Although the Paseo water-main break did not result in loss of life or limb — as did the Mississippi River bridge collapse last year in Minnesota — it certainly could have, depending on its timing.

It's fortunate that the break involved only material and labor costs and that state and local transportation officials and hard-working crews, hustling around the clock, were able to make repairs as quickly as they did.

Still, at the very least, it caused considerable inconvenience to commuters who for several days lost a vital rush-hour route that normally handles thousands of commuter vehicles per day crossing the Rio Grande.

Traffic was a mess on Alameda Boulevard, north of Paseo, and on Montaño Road, to the south — not to mention the cost of excess fuel burned and the generation of excess pollution spewed in the stop-and-go commuter parade.

Imagine if such interruptions became more common, perhaps even routine, as critical parts of our aging infrastructure simply started collapsing. The potential for Paseo-like repeats may not be routine, but their probability may be quantifiable, even predictable.

Already, transportation officials are concerned that other parts of the same water main under Paseo may be corroded and susceptible to a similar collapse.

They are considering a feasibility study on retiring the line and building an alternative "that is not right under the road," said David Morris, a spokesman for the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority.

While initial analysis by engineers did not suggest they fear an "imminent collapse in this area," Morris said that "given this problem, it's probably a good idea to look at alternatives" rather than risk future additional breaks and traffic nightmares.

Actually, it's probably a good idea for the city and the county to assess the entire infrastructure grid — in particular where assets, such as major roads, water lines or other utilities, intersect and the potential is largest for widespread damage from failures.

In the same way that the nation should be considering the threat of terrorist attacks on major infrastructure — from water systems to nuclear power plants — cities and counties, such as like Albuquerque and Bernalillo, should make comprehensive assessments of the impacts of infrastructure deterioration and catastrophic collapse.

Not only could such analysis be useful for emergency planning in the event of a collapse, but it also could be useful in prioritizing corrective actions using limited resources to upgrade aging systems before they fail.