State seeks comment for State Transportation Improvement Program

New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) District 2 Engineer Timothy Parker oversees 10 counties and nearly 25 percent of the state’s vast transportation network.

Parker and others in the NMDOT are seeking public comment on the state’s adoption of the Fiscal Year 2020 through 2025 State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP).

The STIP is required under federal legislation.

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Parker said STIP serves as a spending plan for the NMDOT.

“It gives you a snapshot of the direction and the quality and types of projects we’re going to be doing in the future,” he said.

Parker said the New Mexico Legislature named U.S. Highway 285 as a priority for District 2.

“Fifty million dollars for two years goes to (U.S.) 285 just to make it a viable project to get it done,” he said.

Parker said work on U.S. 285 will be done in four phases, and three bridges on the highway need reconstruction.

“It’s not necessarily complex, (but) it is intricate when you have utilities, gas lines and illegal driveways,” he said.

“We’re having to evaluate driveways and utilities all the way down the 285 corridor and that’s going to be one of the challenges to the  project.”

More:Eddy County seeks private money for proposed overpass

Parker said State Highway 128 and State Highway 31 were given along with U.S. 285.

“Those are the top three projects that the District is required to look at to evaluate,” he said.

State Rep. David Gallegos (R-61) said fixing Southeast New Mexico’s roads is long overdue.

“We should not have to wait for someone to die on our roads before we start the process to repair them,” Gallegos said.

“We need to fix our road infrastructure here,” the Lea County Republican said.

NMDOT listed 20 road projects in Lea County, and 30 in Eddy County as part of the improvement plan.

“I looked at Eddy County’s and you guys have more road projects. But, the reason for that is you guys have more deteriorated roads. I’m just grateful the state is starting to send money down here,” he said.

More:State Rep. Cathrynn Brown to prioritize 'urgent' road projects in New Mexico House bill

Major work needed in Lincoln County

Carrizozo could be a hub for a number of projects in the coming years, according to Parker.

“NMDOT has nine projects from downtown Carrizozo to upgrade some corridor projects for U.S. Highway 54, which is a primary freight corridor in southeastern New Mexico,” he said.

The plan includes $11 million for the U.S. 54 corridor construction phase, and $1 million for bridge preservation.

“We’ve got a ton of bridges in this part of the state that we’ve got to take care of,” he said.

More:NMDOT: Funding inadequate for New Mexico's roads

“They all need updating, replacement, preservation in different phases just like any road way does.

“Right now, I think in Lincoln County, you’re looking at nearly $13 million for the next two years and then in Fiscal Year 2022 you’ve got almost $17 million and so I would say these projects were in the STIP before we were directed to invest that $50 million for the next two years in Eddy County. Lincoln County is getting a lot of attention.”

Otero County has winning pavement

“We actually had a state and regional winner on pavement smoothness just of Alamogordo on U.S. 54 ,” Parker said. “That was a pretty excitable investment.”

Parker said $5 to $6 million could be spent on future road projects in Otero County.

Public comment on the plan closes July 19.

The projects included in the STIP are funded with a combination of federal, state and/or local funds.

To read the proposed amendment visit https://estip.dot.state.nm.us/.

STIP projects

 Eddy County

• Railroad Crossing east of Carlsbad, $278,096
• Grand Avenue railroad crossing, $333, 708
• Cherry Lane Railroad Crossing, $73,326
• Blevins Road railroad crossing, $107,000
• Fairgrounds Road, $68,020
• Potash Highway railroad crossing, $2,187, 500
• Center Road Railroad Crossing, $135,000
• Lawrence Ranch Road railroad crossing, $435,915
• Carter Road railroad crossing, $243,926
• Greene Street Railroad Crossing, $425,894
• Whitworth Drive railroad crossing, $304,046
• Oak Road at Carter Road railroad crossing, $80,500
• Orchard Lane crossing,$488,000
• WIPP Phase I $4,800,000
• WIPP Phase II, $4,800,000
• WIPP Route Phase VI, $2,400,000
• Brine Well, $1,000,000
• WIPP Phase I, $3,400,000
• Carlsbad Relief Route Bridge Preservation, $750,000
• Downtown Artesia ADA, $1,000,000
• U.S. 285 Corridor Phase I, $30,000,000
• U.S. 285 Corridor Study, $5,067, 787
• U.S. 285 bridge rehabilitation $1,146,602
• Hidalgo Road-U.S. 62/180 traffic signal, $900,000
• Intersection lighting on Carlsbad Relief Route, $200,000
• Artesia ADA and traffic signals, $1,607,042

Lincoln County 

• Country Club Drive to River Trail Road, $720,000
• Bonito River preservation, $1,559,000
• U.S. 54 Bridge preservation, $1,000,000
• U.S. 380 shoulder project, $3,500,000
• U.S. 54 Corridor construction phase, $11,000,000
• New Mexico 395 bridge reconstruction, $1,500,000
• New Mexico 368 bridge preservation, $700,000
• Downtown Carrizozo, $2,500,000
• East of Carrizozo bridge replacement, $2,000,000
• New Mexico 532 Phase I, $3,000,000
• Message sign project near Carrizozo, $180,000
• Hondo Valley pavement rehabilitation, $12,000,000

Otero County

• Guardrail upgrade safety project, $3,728, 793
• Intersection of Indian Wells and White Sands realignment, $2,500,000
• U.S. 54 near Tularosa, $17,032,483
• Tularosa ADA, $2,560,284

Projects in neighboring counties 

Lea County 

• 3rd Street Railroad Crossing, $341,330
• Jones City Road railroad crossing, $42,900
• Broadway, Grimes, Sanger and Bender Railroad Crossings, $435,535
• Marland between South Grimes and South Leech at railroad crossing, $427,972
• Teague Switch Road railroad crossing, $55,926
• West County Road railroad crossing, $135,317
• Southern Loop railroad crossing, $137,350
• South Hobbs railroad crossing, $234,590
• Monument Road railroad crossing, $337,079
• Cooper Cemetery Road railroad crossing, $304,046
• New Mexico 248 North Loop railroad crossing, $388,946
• Billy Walker Road railroad crossing, $46,605
• New Mexico 128 pavement rehabilitation, $10,300,000
• Downtown Lovington study and design phase, $1,535,939
• City of Lovington, Commercial Street Phase II Reconstruction, $1,170,412
• City of Lovington, ADA Improvements, $1,890,950
• Payment preservation, $1,146,602
• New Mexico 15 preservation project, $2,000,000
• West of Eunice, $15,200,000
• Downtown Lovington Construction Phase I, $8,000,000
• U.S. 82 Corridor pavement rehabilitation $11,000,000
• 1 mile southwest of NM 529 junction east of junction with New Mexico 8, $1,747,000

Chaves County

• Country Club Road (Roswell) railroad crossing, $154,825
• Second Street (Roswell) railroad crossing, $118,550
• Hobson Road Crossing, $107,000
• WIPP Route Phase VII, $2,550,000
• New Mexico 2 reconstruction, $15,000,000
• Roswell Main Street, $6,000,000
• Various bridge preservation, $4,425,000
• Atkinson Avenue (Roswell), $1,158,708
• 7.3 miles west of 285 in Roswell, $3,748,442

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.