REQUESTING THE STATE HIGHWAY AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO ASSIST THE GOVERNMENT OF TAOS COUNTY IN FINDING A WAY 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 assist the government of Taos county in finding a way to replace 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.