Sen. Ben Ray Lujan secures $1M for relief route in Jal as part of a larger road project
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Federal funding for a relief route for a Lea County community dealing with increased oil and gas traffic was welcomed by local officials.
Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) asked for a $1 million allocation to the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) for a relief route study along New Mexico State Road 128, said Jal Mayor Stephen Aldridge and City Manager Matt White.
The $1 million is part of a $250 million federal spending package for 130 local projects across New Mexico, read a joint press from Lujan and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM).
The Senate Appropriations Committee released a nearly $1.7 trillion fiscal year 2023 spending plan which includes spending increases for various federal projects. Lujan said the full Senate has not voted on the appropriations bill.
Aldridge said NMODT allotted the City of Jal $4 million previously for the ongoing study for a relief route along New Mexico Highway 128.
"We've had good communications with Sen. Lujan they've always been responsive," he said.
Aldridge said the relief route was needed as increased traffic from oil fields in the southernmost Lea County community caused traffic jams along major arterials, including New Mexico 128.
The relief route is part of an overall safety improvement plan for New Mexico 128 and New Mexico State Road 31, according to NMDOT.
State Road 31 extends 22 miles from a junction with U.S. highway 285 to U.S. 62/180 near Carlsbad. State Road 128 travels 60 miles from New Mexico 31 through Lea County to the Texas State line, according to NMDOT.
NMDOT secured nearly $500 million in federal and state funds for phase one work along New Mexico 128 and 31.
Studies on the safety improvements in Eddy and Lea counties were scheduled to conclude this year and construction could start in 2023, read an NMDOT website.
More:Financial support sought for New Mexico highways 128 and 31 as construction study moves on
Aldridge said the overall project would be a design-build, which would speed up construction.
“This provides maximum funding flexibility for NMDOT and its partners and allows NMDOT to aggressively move towards starting construction of the improvements sooner,” stated an NMDOT website.
“That road is rough,” said Aldridge of New Mexico 128.
More than 700 vehicle crashes occurred on New Mexico 31 and 128 from 2014 to 2019, read data compiled by WSP Global, an engineering company.
More:Proposed highway improvements could relieve strain on small Lea County community streets
Twenty eight percent of the crashes resulted in injuries or death, according to WSP’s information.
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: $1M secured for Jal relief route as part of larger road safety project
