HOUSE MEMORIAL 55

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

Jenifer Jones and Luis M. Terrazas and Crystal Diamond Brantley

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATURE TO PRIORITIZE AND ALLOCATE FUNDING FOR NEW MEXICO HIGHWAY 11 IMPROVEMENTS AND A TRUCK BYPASS CIRCUMNAVIGATING DEMING.

 

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highway 11 serves as a vital transportation corridor in southwestern New Mexico, connecting the Columbus port of entry to interstate 10 and facilitating trade between New Mexico and Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, New Mexico highway 11 is currently overused and diminishing in condition as heavy truck traffic increases, with the Columbus port of entry processing approximately five thousand six hundred trucks in 2008, sixteen thousand four hundred trucks in 2018 and over twenty-five thousand trucks in 2023; and

     WHEREAS, this route experiences substantial seasonal increases in heavy truck traffic, particularly during harvest seasons for crops such as chile and hay, with estimates of up to seven hundred trucks passing through Columbus weekly; and

     WHEREAS, this leads to further road deterioration, safety concerns and congestion; and

     WHEREAS, there are a multitude of new and future developments that will intensify trade and traffic on New Mexico highway 11 and through the city of Deming; and

     WHEREAS, Mexico has invested in the improvement of its roads near the New Mexico ports of entry; and

     WHEREAS, Luna county has three existing industrial parks, and there are plans to develop two hundred additional acres of industrial park near the border by mid-2025 and a ninety-thousand-square-foot cold storage facility near the Deming airport; and

     WHEREAS, in Luna county, there are plans to develop and operate a forty-acre mine that for twenty years would produce approximately three hundred thousand tons of dolomite per year; and

     WHEREAS, the capacity of New Mexico highway 11, especially within the Deming city limits, is inadequate to handle the current volume of heavy traffic, let alone the increase expected from all of the recent and future developments; and

     WHEREAS, the increasing traffic will exacerbate congestion, disrupt local commerce, increase travel times and create safety hazards for motorists and pedestrians; and

     WHEREAS, Luna county is currently working toward establishing a dedicated truck route from the Columbus port of entry to New Mexico highway 11, with estimated planning and design costs of two million dollars ($2,000,000) and total construction costs of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000); and

     WHEREAS, existing roads around Deming have the potential to serve as truck relief routes, allowing trucks to bypass the city center and alleviate congestion; and

     WHEREAS, a corridor study has already been conducted to evaluate a truck route around Deming that would include access to interstate 10 and New Mexico highway 26; and

     WHEREAS, this would require allocating funds to upgrade existing infrastructure; and

     WHEREAS, investing in these infrastructure improvements would facilitate greater trade, improve freight mobility and efficiency, reduce traffic congestion and enhance safety and resident quality of life; and  

     WHEREAS, this would create jobs, attract further trade from Mexico and stimulate economic growth;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the New Mexico legislature be requested to prioritize and allocate funding for the rehabilitation and improvement of New Mexico highway 11 from the border of Mexico north through Deming; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature be requested to prioritize and allocate funding for the design and construction of a dedicated truck route to bypass Deming by utilizing existing roads in order to facilitate safe and efficient freight corridors; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of transportation be requested to actively pursue federal funding opportunities and prioritize these infrastructure projects; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of transportation solicit and incorporate the feedback and expertise of staff, leaders and experts local to Luna county in designing a truck route bypassing Deming; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to each member of the house of representatives and the secretary and deputy secretary of transportation.

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