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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Silva

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/31/2007

HB HJM 8

SHORT TITLE

Open Paseo Del Norte To Truck Traffic

SB

ANALYST Moser

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY07

FY08

FY09 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-

Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$5,000.0 Indeterminate >$5,000.0 Non-

recurring State Road

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Joint Memorial 8 proposes to remove truck limitations from Paseo del Norte between

Coors Boulevard and Second Street in Albuquerque. This will allow trucks to utilize Paseo del

Norte between Interstate 25 and the Westside of Albuquerque

.

House Joint Memorial 8 – Page

2

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

The NMDOT states that in order to accommodate truck traffic on Paseo del Norte three overpass

bridges (Rio Grande Blvd., Fourth Street, and a pedestrian bridge) will need to be reconstructed

to provide adequate truck clearance at a cost of approximately $5,000,000. These structures

were constructed with a vertical clearance of 13.5 feet; the NMDOT standard for facilities

carrying truck traffic is 16 feet.

If noise mitigation is required due to the addition of trucks on the facility, noise walls are

estimated to cost up to an additional $2,500,000.00 per mile. This cost is not included in the

$5,000,000.00 referenced above and is represented by the Indeterminate fiscal year 2009

designation in the Operating Budget Impact table of Section II of this Analysis.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The NMDOT states that the settlement agreement negotiated in 1985 between the Village of Los

Ranchos and NMDOT does not ban trucks weighing in excess of five tons. The settlement

agreement however does prohibit truck traffic until such time as Paseo del Norte is reconstructed

to freeway/expressway standards i.e., grade separations/interchanges at Rio Grande Blvd., Fourth

Street, and Second Street. Since these improvements have been completed it does not appear

that the settlement agreement will need to be reopened. The NMDOT will be required to

implement its standard location study procedures to determine impacts and necessary mitigation.

It is anticipated that public involvement with adjacent residential communities will be

substantial.

TECHNICAL ISSUES

The NMDOT questions the need to renegotiate the 1985 settlement agreement and/or reopen the

underlying lawsuit.

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

NMDOT state that the Paseo del Norte is a heavily-used commuting corridor that is severely

congested in the peak morning and evening commute times. The addition of truck traffic is

expected to significantly exacerbate this problem. If during the analyses performed as part of

NMDOT Location Study Procedures it is determined that mitigation is necessary in order to

improve peak commuting times, it may be prudent to keep truck limitations during peak

commuting times. The NMDOT may widen Paseo del Norte and provide managed lanes in the

future.

GM/nt