HOUSE MEMORIAL 28
50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011
INTRODUCED BY
Tim D. Lewis
A MEMORIAL
DECLARING CONSTRUCTION OF THE PASEO DEL NORTE BOULEVARD AND INTERSTATE 25 INTERCHANGE PROJECT IN ALBUQUERQUE AND THE EXTENSION OF THE EASTERN ALIGNMENT OF PASEO DEL VOLCAN FROM PASEO DEL NORTE BOULEVARD IN THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE TO SOUTHERN BOULEVARD IN THE CITY OF RIO RANCHO AS DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES IN THE GREATLY EXPANDING ALBUQUERQUE METROPOLITAN PLANNING AREA; REQUESTING THE PARTICIPATION OF ALL IMPACTED JURISDICTIONS IN FUNDING THESE PRIORITIES; REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO IDENTIFY ALTERNATIVE FUNDING SOURCES.
WHEREAS, the New Mexico department of transportation, in cooperation with member jurisdictions of the Albuquerque metropolitan planning area, has completed the planning phase for a project to improve the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange; and
WHEREAS, the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange project will reconstruct the major traffic exchange that connects Albuquerque's northwest mesa, the city of Rio Rancho, the village of Corrales and the village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque to the region's major employment centers, including the university of New Mexico, central New Mexico community college, Kirtland air force base, uptown Albuquerque and the north interstate 25 corridor; and
WHEREAS, eighty thousand four hundred vehicles use the north interstate 25 transportation corridor every day, and by the year 2035, the number of vehicle trips is projected to double, creating delays of up to twenty minutes. Currently, traffic delays in the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange project area annually result in nineteen million dollars ($19,000,000) in lost wages for commuters waiting in traffic; and
WHEREAS, due to inadequate access to and from the roads in the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange project area, the full economic potential of the land uses within the north interstate 25 corridor is not realized; and
WHEREAS, the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange project will include constructing flyover ramps for the northbound-to-westbound and the eastbound-to-southbound directions of travel; widening Paseo del Norte boulevard from Edith boulevard to San Pedro drive; improving the intersection at San Pedro drive and interstate 25; separating the grade at Paseo del Norte boulevard and Jefferson street; improving the frontage road adjacent to Paseo del Norte boulevard; constructing a new arterial street over the Domingo Baca arroyo between the north diversion channel and interstate 25 to improve access to underused commercial lands in the north interstate 25 corridor; improving Jefferson street from Lang avenue to the Domingo Baca channel arterial street; improving the interchanges of interstate 25 at San Mateo boulevard and Osuna road, at San Antonio avenue, and at Alameda boulevard and New Mexico highway 528; widening interstate 25 to four lanes in each direction to improve driver safety and traffic flow; improving the frontage roads from San Mateo boulevard and Osuna road to Alameda boulevard and New Mexico highway 528; developing a transit corridor to connect the New Mexico rail runner express with the Albuquerque ride and Rio metro bus systems; connecting the east-west bike trail system across interstate 25 and through the Journal center; developing Channel road from Osuna road to Alameda boulevard and New Mexico highway 528 to improve access to the north interstate 25 employment corridor; including a grade-separated intersection at Paseo del Norte boulevard; acquisition of rights of way; and provision for cleanup of former landfill sites; and
WHEREAS, the benefits from the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange project include a combined savings of ten to thirty minutes in travel time and improved commercial access to the north interstate 25 corridor, together resulting in a total economic impact for the period 2010 to 2030 of thirty-three billion four hundred ninety million dollars ($33,490,000,000), consisting of additional labor productivity and business growth and in a net gain of over twenty-five thousand eight hundred jobs, improvement in the movement of people and goods and creation of three thousand six hundred eighty-six construction and project-related jobs; and
WHEREAS, much of the asphalt, concrete and diesel fuel, which constitute a major part of the cost of the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange project, will be processed within New Mexico, and the project design and engineering to date have been conducted by New Mexico firms; and
WHEREAS, the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange project is a major investment that will require phased development, with the first phase to be identified by the department of transportation by the spring of 2011; and
WHEREAS, the federal government has committed twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) to design the project, and the city of Albuquerque has committed eighteen million two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($18,250,000) from its capital programs to build and complete the Channel road extension and to expand Osuna road; and
WHEREAS, a three-mile missing portion of the eastern alignment of Paseo del Volcan boulevard exists between Paseo del Norte boulevard in Albuquerque and Southern boulevard in the city of Rio Rancho; and
WHEREAS, construction of the missing portion of Paseo del Volcan boulevard will provide an additional route for commuters between western Rio Rancho to interstate 40; and
WHEREAS, commuter traffic on the interstate 40 bridge over the Rio Grande does not exceed vehicle capacity during morning and evening rush hours, and diverting traffic to this bridge will result in improved traffic flows on Alameda boulevard, Paseo del Norte boulevard and Montano avenue bridges over the Rio Grande; and
WHEREAS, the three north-south routes connecting the city of Rio Rancho to interstate 40 are congested during rush hours, but this congestion can be alleviated by developing a fourth north-south road; and
WHEREAS, completion of the missing portion of Paseo del Volcan boulevard is identified in the draft 2035 metropolitan transportation plan for the Albuquerque metropolitan area as a strategy to reduce congestion on the existing north-south roads; and
WHEREAS, completion of the missing portion of Paseo del Volcan boulevard will enhance the feasibility of developing the Double Eagle industrial park, a potential major regional employment center;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange project and construction of the missing portion of Paseo del Volcan boulevard between Paseo del Norte boulevard and Southern boulevard be declared development priorities in the Albuquerque metropolitan planning area; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the communities in the Albuquerque metropolitan planning area, the federal government and private parties whose lands will be improved by the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange project be urged to join together to fund the project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of transportation report to the appropriate interim legislative committee by September 1, 2011 on funding alternatives for completion of the Paseo del Norte boulevard and interstate 25 interchange project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the city of Albuquerque, the city of Rio Rancho, the village of Corrales, the village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, Bernalillo county, Sandoval county and the private parties whose lands will be improved by the construction of the missing portion of Paseo del Volcan boulevard be urged to join together to fund the construction; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the department of transportation, the New Mexico office of the federal highway administration, the city of Albuquerque, the city of Rio Rancho, the village of Corrales, the village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, the Bernalillo county board of commissioners, the Sandoval county board of commissioners and the mid-region council of governments.
- 7 -