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| Wilson Welcomes Job-Creating Highway Funds to NM |
August 15, 2005 |
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| $1.7 Billion to NM, creating as many as 81,000 jobs over six years
Albuquerque, NM – Congresswoman Heather Wilson joined today with community leaders to celebrate the $1.7 billion that will flow to New Mexico over the next six years through the highway bill recently passed by Congress. Wilson says the bill could create as many as 81,000 jobs in New Mexico as the federal government invests in our state’s highway infrastructure.
Wilson joined with others today at the dusty edge of the huge Coors & I-40 reconstruction project to talk about $25 million in funding earmarked for specific Albuquerque-area projects, including $15.6 million for the intersection that serves as a main access point to much of Albuquerque’s growing Westside.
“We’re creating jobs and building better roads,” says Wilson. “Our transportation infrastructure is the underpinning of job growth in our state, and this bill will have a tangible result on our roads and will directly create thousands of jobs at the same time.”
“We can already see the effect of the bill here at Coors & I-40, where construction workers make progress every day even as Westside commuters travel weave through the orange barrels,” says Wilson. “Once this construction is complete, it will make a huge difference for people traveling though this Westside corridor.”
Wilson’s job estimate comes from the federal Department of Transportation’s JOBMOD Employment Estimation Model, an input/output (I/O) model of the highway construction sector of the U.S. economy, that estimates 48,000 jobs are created for every $1 billion spent on highway and transportation infrastructure. Since New Mexico’s portion of the highway bill is estimated to be $1.7 billion over the next six years, it’s estimated the bill will create as many as 81,000 jobs in that time.
Wilson worked for specific upgrades for Albuquerque area projects that will benefit traffic flow and local and state economies: $15.6 million for Coors/I-40, $5.6 million for the Mesa del Sol interchange, $2.8 million for I-25/Tramway and $1 million for the Middle Rio Grande Coalition of Governments (MRCOG) for planning purposes along the proposed Belen-to-Santa Fe commuter rail, and the study of route alternatives for the Albuquerque to Santa Fe corridor.
Funding requested by Rep. Wilson for New Mexico projects:
Coors/I-40, $15.6 million – the state’s second most-traveled interchange
Mesa del Sol, $5.6 million
Tramway/I-25, $2.8 million
Albuquerque to Santa Fe corridor study, $1 million (Belen to Santa Fe commuter rail route)
Commuter Rail Authorized for Federal Support
Wilson also says that the bill takes an important step for New Mexico’s commuter rail effort, by authorizing unspecified future funding for the project. Plans are underway for commuter rail service linking Belen to Santa Fe and including downtown Albuquerque and the Sunport. Wilson has spoken to Governor Richardson and they have agreed that the Sunport spur will be included in Phase I of the Commuter Rail project.
“New Mexico will need to draw on federal resources for a project of this size,” Wilson said. “Federal funding can be a lengthy process and there are many competing priorities in Washington, so this is an important starting point.”
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