45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

REQUESTING THE STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO REPLACE THE PILAR BRIDGE ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE IN TAOS COUNTY.

WHEREAS, the bridge across the Rio Grande in the village of Pilar serves about eighty full-time residents of the west side of the river, and as many as fifty thousand people pass under the bridge in river rafts and boats during the year; and

WHEREAS, the bridge is a wooden structure dating to the 1950s and sits no more than six and one-half feet above the Rio Grande; and

WHEREAS, fire trucks, school buses and propane service trucks cannot cross the bridge because of weight limits; and

WHEREAS, wood rot is threatening the integrity of the bridge, and it is unsafe; and

WHEREAS, recreationists and rafters support the replacement of the bridge;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the state highway and transportation department be requested to prioritize the replacement of the bridge across the Rio Grande in the village of Pilar in Taos county; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the state highway commission.