Udall Protects Rural N.M. Roads in Transportation Markup

Senate EPW Committee Unanimously Reports Transportation Bill out of Committee with Udall Amendments

WASHINGTON - Today the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously reported the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) transportation bill out of committee including three amendments offered by U.S. Senator Tom Udall to protect rural roads in New Mexico.

The bipartisan MAP-21 bill will provide funding for surface transportation programs within the Federal Highway Administration through 2013.

"This bill provides our states and communities with more stability than the short term extensions of the last two years and protects more than 600,000 jobs that would be at risk if funding levels were cut," Udall said. "While we need to address the deteriorating infrastructure in our urban communities, we cannot afford to neglect the needs of our smaller communities and rural roads."

Udall's additions to the bill include two amendments to address rural road safety and to provide for alternative corridor improvements.

The Rural Road Safety amendment will ensure that crashes on rural roads are taken into account when prioritizing safety projects. In general, crashes occur more often in urban areas, but are more deadly on rural roads, which are plentiful in New Mexico. This amendment will help states to properly identify hot spots in both rural and urban locations.

In rural towns, often the only federally eligible road is the main street, which can become congested due to traffic. Udall's Alternative Corridor Improvement amendment will allow communities of less than 200,000 to make improvements to otherwise non-federally eligible roads, improving traffic congestion on the main street and spurring local economic development.

"I am pleased with the bill's passage out of committee and will work throughout the process to strengthen the legislation in order to protect New Mexico's rural roads," Udall said.

In addition, a third amendment proposed by Udall was modified and accepted by the committee. The Border Road amendment would allow for communities along the border, like those in Hidalgo County, to receive federal funds for roads within 10 miles of the border. Udall, who describes this as a good start, has been working to improve existing law so that all roads within 100 miles of the border that are used for federal purposes, like border security, are eligible for federal funding.