WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), announced today that New Mexico will receive more than $7.4 million from the Department of Transportation to fund highway rehabilitation projects and improve traffic safety and congestion.
"The quality and reliability of our roadways are critical in our daily lives," said Udall. "In a large, rural state like ours, with limited public transportation options, we depend on our roadways to get to work and school every day. This funding will pay for necessary improvements to New Mexico roads, bridges and other infrastructure, and create good jobs in the process."
The grant funding was made available through enactment of the bipartisan Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012, which was passed earlier this year and developed in Udall's committees.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) invited states, cities, tribal governments and local planning organizations to apply for 12 grant programs to improve roadway safety, maintain the nation's roads and bridges, and make communities more livable.
NM projects receiving grants are:
$ 3,000,000 - Jicarilla Apache Nation SR 537 Roadway Construction Project
- This project will reconstruct a portion of New Mexico State Route 537, accommodating heavier truck loading for oil & gas development, widened travel lanes and shoulders for increased sight distance.
$ 2,000,000 - Chaves County - US 380 Highway Improvement
- This project will upgrade accessibility to over 160 acres of recreational facilities through repaving, new signage and pavement markings and other roadway improvements along 27 miles of US 380.
$ 657,488 - Santa Fe County Pavement Preservation Program
- This project will construct a pavement preservation program through careful monitoring of pavement conditions and timely placement of preventive maintenance treatments.
$ 556,419 - Billy the Kid National Scenic Byway Pedestrian and Bicycle Trail
- This project will construct a pedestrian and bicycle path adjacent to the Billy the Kid Trail in New Mexico.
$ 496,000 - RN 125 "The Road to Education is full of Potholes"
- This project will improve RN 125, a 25-mile major rural thoroughfare on the Ramah Navajo Reservation. Eight miles have been reconstructed, and funding for this project will complete the plans, specification and estimates for the reconstruction of nine more miles of pavement that has greatly deteriorated.
$ 400,000 - Farmington East Main Street Corridor Traffic Signal Improvement Project
- This project will dramatically improve travel time reliability, reduce stops, reduce congestion, improve circulation, and increase the safety of signalized intersections in the city of Farmington.
$ 170,000 - NM 419 Bridge over Arroyo Mesteno and NM 419 over Unnamed Waterway near Trementina
- The project will replace two simple span timber bridges with complete prefabricated systems and construction of Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) abutment walls and wing walls.
$ 120,000 - Historic Route 66 Wayfinding Signs in Albuquerque
- This project will fund the design and construction of wayfinding signs along the Historic Route 66 in Albuquerque.
$ 19,200 - Historic Route 66 Los Lunas Corridor Management Plan
- This project will develop a corridor management plan for the Los Lunas segment of Historic Route 66 in New Mexico.
For a list and full description of projects in New Mexico, click here
