29 Road Improvement Projects on Hold

Albuquerque Journal ^ | December 7, 2007 | Trip Jennings

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SANTA FE— With no money to pay for them, New Mexico has indefinitely postponed $500 million worth of high-priority road projects.

The biggest losers dollar-wise?

The Navajo Nation, drivers on U.S. 54 in the central part of the state and users of U.S. 64 in northern New Mexico. Other losers include drivers jockeying for position on the crowded stretch of I-25 between Bernalillo and the Tramway exit at the north end of Albuquerque.

All told, the state Transportation Commission has postponed 29 improvement projects involving 300 miles of roadway.

"I'm sure we'll have everyone upset because these projects are not up here, but what do you do when you are $500 million short?" Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught said Thursday. "We have no money."

The commission was forced to cut half a billion dollars because New Mexico's $2.7 billion high-priority transportation program called GRIP I— for Gov. Richardson's Investment Partnership— is short by that amount.

One GRIP project that didn't wind up on the delay list is the governor's Rail Runner Express commuter train.

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Critics, including legislators, have said the train is costing far more than anticipated and that money would be better used for highway construction and maintenance.

The commission's decision means the road projects won't be done or— in the best-case scenario, will be strung over a long period of time— unless the state finds new money to pay for them, Faught said.

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Maybe you missed this little bit of the article

Faught disputes critics who say the Rail Runner project, which will ultimately run from Belen to Santa Fe, has contributed to the shortfall. "It's inflation and it's a lack of federal funds," Faught said in an interview.

Not only does King Bill want tax money from us here in NM but he wants money for his train from your pocket as well.