HOUSE MEMORIAL 32

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

David E. Adkins

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PASEO DEL VOLCAN TRANSPORTATION CORRIDOR TO THE FUTURE PROSPERITY AND PUBLIC WELFARE OF BERNALILLO AND SANDOVAL COUNTIES AND THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO AND REQUESTING THAT COMPLETION OF THE CORRIDOR WITHIN THE NEXT SEVEN YEARS BE A BUDGET AND CONSTRUCTION PRIORITY FOR THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO.

 

     WHEREAS, the planning region for the mid-region council of governments includes Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Valencia counties and the southern portion of Santa Fe county; and

     WHEREAS, approximately forty-two percent of the people in New Mexico currently live within the mid-region council of governments' planning region, and this percentage is projected to grow to over fifty percent by the year 2035; and

     WHEREAS, the population of the mid-region council of governments' planning region is expected to grow by nearly six hundred seventy thousand people and exceed one million five hundred thousand people within the next twenty years; and

     WHEREAS, the residential communities on the west side of the Rio Grande in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties are growing more quickly than those on the east side of the river, and the forecast is that an additional one-half million people will live in these communities by 2035; and

     WHEREAS, cross-river commuting traffic will continue to grow in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, necessitating either the construction of additional river crossings or a more even distribution of traffic among the existing crossings; and

     WHEREAS, the current major access routes to the west-side communities of Bernalillo and Sandoval counties tend to channel traffic to the south and east and have a finite ability to increase capacity; and

     WHEREAS, analyses indicate that the relocation or start-up of just one medium-sized business along the Paseo del Volcan transportation corridor could generate approximately one thousand two hundred temporary construction jobs and one hundred fifty permanent jobs for New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico and the Bernalillo/Sandoval counties metropolitan area face increasing competition from other states and communities in the southwest for new business operations; and

     WHEREAS, connectivity and transportation access are key site-selection criteria for companies in manufacturing and other business sectors; and

     WHEREAS, the Paseo del Volcan corridor will run west of the Double Eagle II airport and connect United States highway 550 in the north to interstate 40 in the south; and

     WHEREAS, completion of the Paseo del Volcan corridor will provide alternative access to west-side communities in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties, channel traffic to the north and west, facilitate the shipment of manufactured products and alleviate the need for additional river crossings; and

     WHEREAS, a significant element of the cost of most roadway projects is the acquisition of rights of way; however, with regard to the anticipated route for the Paseo del Volcan corridor, the landowners for most of the land required by the project have offered to donate their rights of way; and

     WHEREAS, the acquisition of the remaining rights of way for the Paseo del Volcan corridor has been programmed into the state transportation improvement program, and completion of the corridor is estimated to cost approximately ninety-six million dollars ($96,000,000);

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that completion of the Paseo del Volcan corridor be recognized as a project of great importance to the future prosperity and public welfare of the residents of New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the governor and the department of transportation be requested to continue collaboration with the local governmental members of the mid-region council of governments and to prioritize budgets, planning and construction schedules to ensure that the Paseo del Volcan corridor is completed within seven years; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation be requested to place a high priority on obtaining federal assistance for the completion of the Paseo del Volcan corridor; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the secretary of transportation, the executive board of the mid-region council of governments and the members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.

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