HOUSE MEMORIAL 89

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Elias Barela

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO CONDUCT A STUDY OF A RAILWAY OVERPASS ON STATE ROUTE 109 NEAR JARALES IN VALENCIA COUNTY.

     WHEREAS, state route 109 provides ingress to and egress from the south-central part of Valencia county for hundreds of residents of Valencia county; and

     WHEREAS, state route 109 intersects with the transcontinental rail line; and

     WHEREAS, vehicular traffic on state route 109 exceeds two thousand four hundred vehicle trips per day; and

     WHEREAS, the vehicular traffic on state route 109 experiences an average of nine hours per day of delay because of the one hundred ten trains per day that cross the intersection with state route 109; and

     WHEREAS, delays to the motoring public and emergency responders pose a significant threat to the health, safety and welfare of those who use state route 109; and

     WHEREAS, a grade-separated intersection would provide uninterrupted traffic flow for passenger vehicles, emergency vehicles and trains;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department of transportation be requested to work with Valencia county to conduct a study regarding the need for and feasibility of an overpass over the BNSF railroad on state route 109 just south of Lazy lane near Jarales in Valencia county, which study should consider public safety, the inconvenience of vehicular traffic delays, the increase in commuter rail traffic and the availability of state and federal funding; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of transportation and the Valencia county commission report the findings and recommendations of the study to the interim New Mexico finance authority oversight committee by no later than October 31, 2009; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor, the secretary of transportation, the Valencia county commission and the Valencia county manager.

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